
Class ^14^1 

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BOARD OK 

WORLD'S FAIR MANAGERS 

OK MARYLAND. 



Hon. Frank Brown, Governor. 
Hon. F. C. Latrobe, Baltimore. Mrs. Wm. Reed, Baltimore. 

Hon. Murray Vandiver, Harford Co. J. Olney Norris, Baltimore. 
David Hutzler, Baltimore. Frank N. Hoen, Baltimore. 

Frank S. Hambleton, Baltimore. H. H. Dashiell, Princess Anne. 

Frank R. Scott, Elkton. James T. Perkins, Pr. George's Co. 

John R. Bland, Baltimore. 



president : 
Hon. Frank Brown, 

Governor of Maryland. 
SECRETARY : 

J. Olney Norris. 

treasurer : 
Frank 8. Hambleton. 



VICE-PRESIDENT : 

Hon. F. C. Latrobe, 

Mayor of Baltimore. 
RECORDING SECRETARY : 

Wm. H. Love. 

EXECUTIVE COMMISSIONER 

Geo. L. McCahan. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 
Introductory, i-yi 

CHAPTER I. 
Historical Sketch Wm. Hand Browne. 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Physical Features, W. B. Clark. 11 

Topography. 

Climate. 

Medical Climatology.— C. W. Chancellor, M. D. 

Water Supply. 

Water Power. 

CHAPTER III. 

Geoloot, G. H. Williams and W. B. Clark. 55 

General Review. 
Piedmont Plateau. 
Appalachian Region. 
Coastal Plain. 
Resuriie. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Mines and Minerals, G. H. Williams. 89 

, General. 
Coal. 

Iron. — W. Keyser, Esq. 
Copper. — R. Brent Keyser, Esq. 
Chrome. — Wm. Glenn, Esq. 
Gold. 
Granite. 
Sandstone. 
Slate. 

Marble and Limestone. 
Cement, Serpentine, Soapstone. 
Clay and other Minerals. 

CHAPTER V. 

Agriculture, M. Whitney. 154 

-'Retrospect. 
^Agricultural Regions. 
■^Staple Crops. 

Truck Farming and Fruits. 

Dairy Farming. 

Soils. 

Stock Raising. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Natural History, B. Sollerb and Gr. Lefevre. 218 

Flora of Maryland.— Prof. B. Sollers. 
Terrestrial Animals. — 6. Lefevre, Esq. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Fish and Fisheries, W. K. Brooks. 239 

Shad. 

Bay Mackerel, 

Menhaden. 

Terrapins and Crabs. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Oyster, W. K. Brooks. 264 

The Oyster Industry.— H. McE. Knower, Esq. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Commerce and Transportation, J. H. Hollander. 313 

CHAPTER X. 
Manufactures, J. H. Hollander. 339 

CHAPTER XL 

Cities and Public Buildings, J. H. Hollander. 359 

Annapolis. — Dr; D. R. Randall. 
Cumberland. — Hon. Lloyd Lowndes. 
Hagerstown. — Albert Small, Esq. 
Frederick.— F. M. Kinsey, Esq. 

CHAPTER XII. 
Political Institutions, J. H. Hollander. 380 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Churches and Religious Institutions, C. W. Bump. 393 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Education, B. C. Steiner. 411 

CHAPTER XV. 
Population, J. C. Rose. 432 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Charities and Correction, D. I. Green. 448 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Maryland, situated between the parallels of 37° 53' and 39° 44' 
north latitude, and the meridians of 75° 04' and 79° 33+' west longitude 
(the exact western boundary being yet undetermined), is one of the 
upper tier of Southern States. Its boundaries are: Mason and Dixon's 
line on the north ; the State of Delaware and the Atlantic ocean on the 
east; on the south, a line drawn westward from the ocean to the western 
bank of the Potomac river, thence following the western bank of that 
river to its source ; and on the west, a line drawn due north from this 
source to Mason and Dixon's line. Its gross area is 12,210 square miles, 
of which 9,860 square miles are land surface ; the included portion of the 
Chesapeake Bay, 1,203 square miles; Assateague Bay on the Atlantic 
coast, 93 square miles ; with 1 ,054 square miles of smaller estuaries and 
rivers. 

The Chesapeake Bay ascends to within a few miles of its northern 
boundary, dividing the State into what are known as the Eastern and 
Western Shores. 

The rivers, excluding mere estuaries of the bay, are the Potomac, 
Patuxent, Patapsco, Gunpowder, Susquehanna, Elk, Sassafras, Chester, 
Choptank, Nanticoke, Wicomico and Pocomoke, all emptying into the 
Chesapeake Bay. Beside these, the coast-line of the bay is deeply 
indented with a multitude of creeks, coves, and other estuaries, pene- 
trating the land in all directions, usually bearing the names of rivers, 
and often navigable to some distance by vessels of light draft. Perhaps 
nowhere else in the world is there a coast-line proportionately so exten- 
sive, or any country offering such facilities for water transportation as 
tide-water Maryland. Along the ocean frontier runs a narrow reef of 
sand, inclosing and sheltering Synepuxent and Assateague Bays, and 
giving inland navigation along the whole Atlantic coast of the State. 

Maryland is divided into twenty-three counties, of which Garrett, 
Alleghany, Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore, Harford and Cecil 



11 INTRODUCTORY. 

form the northern tier; Howard, Montgomery, Anne Arundel, Prince 
George's, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's lie on the west ; and Kent, Queen 
Anne's, Talbot, Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester, 
on the east side of the hay. Of these twenty-three there are hut seven 
which do not lie on navigable waters. 

Maryland presents a great variety of configuration, soil and climate. 
The four most westerly counties extend through the systems of mountain 
ranges known as the Alleghany and the Blue Ridge ; east of these is the 
Piedmont region, gently inclining towards tide-water, and on both sides 
of the bay lies the Coastal Plain. The physical and climatic character- 
istics of these regions are set forth in a subsequent chapter. 

Maryland having originally been a part of Virginia, it was, for many 
years after its settlement, generally confounded with that colony in the 
English mind, while those who professed to be better informed, main- 
tained that it was a large island off the Virginia coast. During the rule 
of the first Proprietary, however, several brief accounts were published, 
designed to enlighten the public as to the true geographical position of 
Maryland, its soil, climate, natural productions and government. At that 
time scarce any part of the province was known except a small portion 
of the bay shore, and even as late as 1670, Augustine Herrman, who made 
a map of Maryland, conceived the mountains about Cumberland to be 
the central ridge between the two oceans, and thought it probable that 
they might be rich in precious metals, inasmuch as Mexico lay near their 
western slope. 

The first of these accounts, or Maryland Books, bears the title, "A 
Relation of the Successful Beginnings of the Lord Baltemore's Plantation 
in Maryland," and was written by one of the first colonists, probably 
Father White, in May, 1634, two months after the settlement. The 
author, of course, only knows the country about St. Mary's and the 
shores of the Potomac ; but he is enthusiastic over the delightful 
climate, the fertility of the soil, the abundance of water and fresh 
springs, the infinite plenty of game, fish and wild fruits, and the 
friendliness of the Indians. 

Of this Relation, a revised and enlarged edition was published in 
1635, accompanied by a map in which the shores of the bay and some of 
the principal rivers are pretty fairly laid down, and the interior country 
sketched from imagination. Mountains of formidable size are dotted 



INTRODUCTORY. ill 

liberally over both the Western and Eastern Shores; but the wildest 
and most alpine peaks are reserved for what are now the counties of 
Talbot, Queen Anne and Caroline. But a good deal has been learned in 
a year; and we have here an enumeration of the valuable natural 
productions of Maryland — medicinal plants, timber, wild fruits and 
grapes, game, wild fowl and fish. Of minerals the writer reports iron 
ore, brick clay, fine potters' clay, and marl. The soil is exceedingly 
fertile and fit for any crop ; " and in fine there is scarce any fruit that 
grows in England, France, Spain or Italy, but has been tried and prospers 
well." Of the innocence and uniform friendliness of the Indians he has 
also much to report. 

These, and a brief tract or two, were all the published sources of 
special information about Maryland until 1666, when George Alsop's 
"Character of the Province of Maryland" appeared. Alsop had spent 
four years in the province as an indented laborer, and, according to his 
own account, was so charmed with its manifold excellences and 
attractions, that he could not rest until he made them more widely 
known. He felt that no ordinary style would do justice to such a 
subject, and therefore invented one for the occasion. Those who wish to 
see how beautiful the world is, and how bounteous Nature, should visit 
Maryland, for he is well assured that there is no place " under the 
heavenly altitude, or that has footing or room upon the circular globe of 
this world, that can parallel this fertile and pleasant piece of ground in 
its multiplicity ; or, rather Nature's extravagancy of a super-abounding 
plenty." Condescending to particulars, he tells us that the woods teem 
with wild animals, some valued for their fur, and others for their flesh ; 
and among them may be included the innumerable herds of unclaimed 
hogs running wild in the woods. Sheep, however, cannot be profitably 
bred, because of the wolves. Wild-fowl cover the water "in millionous 
multitudes." 

The principal commodities of the country are tobacco, furs, and 
pork, the former being the staple export, requiring " shipping to the 
number of twenty sail and upward " in November and December to carry 
it away ; beside which it is the universal currency. 

The conditions of labor are light, field-hands working but five and 
a-half days in the week in summer, and in the two hottest months they 
are allowed " an ancient and customary privilege to repose themselves 



1V INTRODUCTORY. 

three hours in the day." In the winter months they have only to cut 
wood for fuel, and may hunt as much as they please, every hand being 
provided with a gun and ammunition. 

Alsop's characterization of the Marylanders is worth quoting. They 
are, he says, "generally conveniently confident, reservedly subtile, quick 
in apprehending, but slow in resolving; and where they spy profit sailing 
towards them with the wings of a prosperous gale, there they become 
much familiar. The women differ something on this point, though not 
much. They are extreme bashful at the first view, but after a continuance 
of time hath brought them acquainted, then they become discreetly 
familiar, and are much more talkative than men. All complimental 
courtships drest up in critical rarities are mere strangers to them ; plain 
wit comes nearest their genius ; so that he that intends to court a Mary- 
land girle must have something more than the tautologies of a long- 
winded speech to carry on his designs." 

Alsop's little book was, it seems, the last of the publications specially 
designed to give general information about Maryland. The extension of 
the colony and of its trade, the establishment of commercial houses in 
England whose chief dealings were with the province, the visits of 
travellers and factors, the increase of correspondence, made Maryland no 
longer an unknown land. 

Settlements gradually spread back from the bay coast to the uplands, 
and wheat and maize began to take their places beside the universal 
tobacco. "When in the last century the western section of Maryland was 
opened up, the great deposits of iron and coal came to the front as a new 
field for industry and source of wealth, while the piedmont and mountain 
regions became the homes of a hardy and industrious population, differing 
in many respects from that of the tidewater settlements. And as the 
pioneers and fantassins keep in the front of an advancing army, so 
the westward march of civilization was preceded by the backwoodsmen, 
an interesting example of a vanished type. These adventurous spirits, 
like Michael and Thomas Cresap, built their log-cabins in the primitive 
forest, where they cultivated small patches of land, but lived mostly on 
the produce of their rifles. Living near the Indians, they adopted many 
of their customs ; dressed in deerskin hunting-shirts, with leggings and 
moccasins, carried tomahawk and knife beside the unerring rifle, and 
were unmatched in all the arts and stratagems of woodcraft. 



INTRODUCTORY. V 

For the portrait of Maryland under this new aspect, we must go to 
the journals of tourists and correspondence of letter-writers, to files of 
old newspapers and bundles of musty manuscripts, and paint our picture 
with colors taken from many palettes. 

The present century has been more remarkable for the utilization of 
existing material sources of wealth than for the discovery of new; but 
it has witnessed so extraordinary a development and expansion of the 
resources and industries of the State, that again the book of Maryland 
has to be written. 

The occurrence of the Columbian Exposition of 1893, at which the 
various States proposed to display to each other, and to the world, the 
extent of their resources and the evidences of their material progress, 
seemed a fitting occasion for the preparation of such a book ; and 
accordingly the Board of Managers, consisting of the Hon. Frank Brown, 
Governor of the State; the Hon. F. C. Latrobe, Mayor of Baltimore; 
Hon. Murray Vandiver, Mrs. William Reed, Messrs. David Hutzler, F. S. 
Hambleton, F. R. Scott, J. Olney JSTorris, Frank N. Hoen, H. H. Dashiell, 
James T. Perkins and J. R. Bland, toward the close of October, 1892, 
approached the Faculty of Johns Hopkins University with the request 
that they would prepare a work setting forth the resources, industries 
and institutions of the State. 

The design having been explained, and the Trustees of the Univer- 
sity having given their sanction, certain of the Faculty undertook to 
prepare the text and furnish the necessary charts, maps, &c. 

An editorial committee was then appointed, consisting of Professor 
G. H. Williams, chairman, Professors H. B. Adams and W. K. Brooks, 
Drs. Wm. Hand Browne and W. B. Clark, and Messrs. Milton Whitney 
and Nicholas Murray. Mr. J. H. Hollander was made corresponding 
secretary. Prof. Williams undertook the general charge of the chapters 
treating of physical features, geology, mines and minerals, and agricul- 
ture; Prof. Brooks of those dealing with natural history, fish and 
fisheries, the oyster and the oyster industry; Prof. Adams of those on 
commerce, manufactures, cities, political and religious institutions, 
education, populations, and charities and correction, and Dr. Browne 
contributed the historical sketch, and had editorial supervision of the 
whole. 



V3 INTRODUCTORY. 

The work thus apportioned was allotted to such members of the 
University as were best qualified to deal with the special subjects, and 
the name of each contributor will be found affixed to his contribution in 
the Table of Contents. Important assistance was also obtained from 
gentlemen not connected with the University, the chapter on Education 
being contributed by Dr. Bernard C. Steiner, Librarian of the Enoch 
Pratt Free Library, and that on Population, by J. C. Eose, Esq., of the 
Baltimore Bar. The article on Medical Climatology was furnished by Dr. 
C. W. Chancellor, Secretary to the State Board of Health, those on the 
iron and copper industries by W. Keyser and R. Brent Keyser, Esqs., 
those on chrome and limestone by W. Glenn and D. Baker, Esqs., and 
that on the flora of Maryland by Prof. B. Sollers. The editors are also 
indebted to Dr. A. W. Clement, V. S., and Mr. Lee Clark, for information 
on the subject of stock-raising. 

In addition, valuable assistance has been received from the following 
gentlemen : Hon. Lloyd Lowndes and Mr. F. M. Offutt, of Cumberland ; 
Mr. Albert Small, of Hagerstown; Dr. D. R. Randall, of Annapolis; Major 
E. T. Goldsborough and Mr. F. M. Kinsey, of Frederick ; Messrs. F. R. 
Jones, J. G. Schonfarber, W. T. Brigham, L. H. Neudecker, W. M. Byrne 
and E. H. Sanborn, of Baltimore ; Mr. E. C. Carrington, of Easton ; Mr. J. 
A. Chapman, jr., of Chestertown; Rev. J. K. Holmes, of Crisfield; Mr. A. 
C Bryan, of Rising Sun ; Mr. H. T. Weld, of Mt. Savage ; and Mr. Raymond 
Henderson, of Hancock. 

In the collection of data the editors have had occasion to consult or 
correspond with a large number of persons, and their inquiries have 
invariably met with a ready and courteous response. To all these friends 
they now tender their acknowledgments. Thanks are also due to the 
officers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for kindly permitting the 
use of selections from their extensive collection of photographic views 
of scenery on the line of their road. 



MARYLAND 



CHAPTER I. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



The foundation of Maryland is primarily due to George Calvert, 
first Baron of Baltimore. When that nobleman, who had been a trusted 
councillor of James I, and had held the office of Principal Secretary of 
State, became a convert to the Roman Catholic faith, he retired from 
public life and determined to spend the remainder of his days in the 
New World. He already held by charter a considerable part of the 
Island of Newfoundland, called the province of Avalon ; and to it he 
removed with his family in 1628. But after a about a year's sojourn in 
this bleak region, the extreme severity of the long winters, and the 
evident impossibility of making Avalon more than a fishing station, 
determined Baltimore to seek a home in some more genial clime; and 
he asked the King, Charles I, for a grant of land north of the Potomac, 
within the territory that had previously been granted to the Virginia 
Company, but which now, by the legal forfeiture of their charter, was 
again in the King's hands. 

His request was granted, and the charter for his new province made 
out; but before it had passed the great seal, Baltimore died, and the 
charter was issued in 1632, to his son, Cecilius Calvert, second Baron of 
Baltimore, who named his province Maryland, in compliment to the 
Queen, Henrietta Maria. 

The territory thus conveyed was considerably more extensive than 
that covered by the present State of Maryland, being bounded on the 
north by the fortieth parallel of north latitude, on the east by the Dela- 
ware Bay and River, and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by a line 
drawn from the mouth of the Potomac River eastward to the ocean, and 
on the west by the farther or right-hand bank of the Potomac to its 
most distant source, and thence due north to the fortieth parallel. 

The privileges conveyed by the charter were the most complete 
ever granted by an English sovereign to a subject : the Proprietary was 



2 MARYLAND. 

invested with palatinate authority, under which were included all royal 
powers, both of peace and war. The province was entirely self-governed, 
all laws being made by the Proprietary and the freemen, and these laws 
required no confirmation from the King or Parliament. By an express 
clause the King renounced for himself and his successors forever, all 
right of taxation in Maryland. All that was required of the colonists 
was that they should be British subjects, and that the Proprietary should 
acknowledge the King of England as his sovereign, paying him, in lieu 
of all services or taxes, two Indian arrows yearly, and the fifth of all 
gold or silver that might be found. 

After securing his charter, Cecilius at once set about his prepara- 
tions for colonisation, and fitted out two small vessels, the Ark and Dove, 
in which the first band of colonists set sail on November 20, 1633. 
These consisted of about twenty gentlemen of good families, all or most 
of whom were Catholics, and about two hundred laborers, craftsmen, 
and servants, most of them Protestants. Baltimore's younger brother, 
Leonard Calvert, was governor and head of the expedition, assisted by 
two councillors, Jerome Hawley and Thomas Cornwaleys. Careful 
instructions for their guidance were drawn up by Baltimore, in which, 
among other things, he charged them to observe strict impartiality, 
and to give the Protestants no cause of offence. 

The ArJc and Dove, after a tedious and stormy passage, during which 
they touched at several of the West lEdia islands, reached at last their 
destination, and the colonists landed upon an island at the mouth of the 
Potomac, where they celebrated divine service and planted a cross on 
March 25, 1634. 

The natives received thern in the most friendly manner, and were 
quite willing that they should settle among them. So they bought from 
the King of the Yaocomicos a tract of land a few miles up the Potomac, 
where there was a good harbor, and there laid out the plan of a city, 
which they called St. Mary's. 

Although the settlement of Maryland could be only an advantage to 
Virginia, yet a powerful party in the latter colony were bitterly hostile 
to it. One of the leaders of this party was William Claiborne, who had 
established a trading-post on Kent Island, in the Chesapeake Bay, 
where, as the agent of a London firm of merchants, he dealt with the 
Indians for beaver skins. Baltimore was desirous of making a friend of 
Claiborne, and instructed Leonard, while notifying him that his island 
was within the province of Maryland, to make amicable overtures to 
him. Claiborne, however, preferred to remain an enemy. 

A vessel of Claiborne's having been seized by the Maryland authori- 
ties for trading in Maryland waters without a license, he despatched a 
shallop with an armed party to St. Mary's to make reprisals. Calvert 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. A 

sent out a force in two pinnaces to meet them, and a battle was fought 
on the Pocomoke river, in which there was some bloodshed on both 
sides, and Claiborne's vessel surrendered. Claiborne soon after went to 
England, and his London principals sent out an agent who took possession 
of their property on Kent Island and acknowledged the jurisdiction of 
Maryland. Some disaffection still remaining on the island, Governor 
Calvert sailed there with a small force, when all the residents peacefully 
submitted and were confirmed in their holdings of land. 

Of the first meeting of the Maryland Assembly we have no record, 
but that of the second, in 1637-8, has been preserved. It consisted of 
all the freemen of the colony', present either in person or by proxies. 
This plan, however, proving inconvenient, was soon changed, and two 
burgesses were elected by every hundred, forming a lower house, while 
the Governor and Council, appointed by the Proprietary, constituted an 
upper house. The clause in the charter giving Baltimore the right to 
propose laws was waived by him, and the initiative in legislation left 
to the Assembly, he reserving the power of assent or dissent. 

The missionaries sent out by the Jesuits with the first colonists were 
diligent in spreading Christianity among the Indians, who gladly listened 
to their teachings and embraced the faith ; even the Tayac, or " emperor," 
as they called him, of Pascataway, who was a sovereign over several 
tribes, asking to be baptized and married according to the Christian 
rite ; and he afterwards brought his young daughter to be educated a t 
St. Mary's. 

The peace which Maryland enjoyed for some years was disturbed by 
the civil war in England. Although Baltimore took no part in the war, 
he was known to be a friend of the King; and although Maryland had 
no direct interest in the controversy, much partisan feeling was aroused. 
In January, 1644, one Eichard Ingle, commander of a merchant ship, was 
in St. Mary's, and being a violent partisan of Parliament, and a loose and 
loud talker of open treason, made himself so obnoxious that he was 
arrested, though presently released and suffered to sail away unmolested. 
But in the autumn of the same year he came back with an armed ship 
and a force of men, seized St. Mary's and overthrew the government. 
For two years the Province remained in the hands of Ingle and his men, 
joined by such of the baser sort as were lured by the prospect of plunder ; 
and they pillaged and destroyed at their pleasure for about two years. 
No blood, however, seems to have been shed. Governor Calvert at 
length obtained some help from Virginia, and, returning with a force, 
regained his authority without a blow, and the Province was once more 
at peace. Not long after, on June 9, 1647, this just and humane Governor 
died, leaving a memory still dear to Marylanders. 




4 MARYLAND. 

In 1648, Baltimore sent out as governor William Stone, a Protestant 
and a friend of the parliamentary party ; and at the same time recon- 
structed the Council, so as to give the Protestants a majority. 

He also sent out a new great seal for the province. This seal bore a 
coat-of-arms, quartered, the first and fourth quarterings consisting of six 
pales, or vertical bars, alternately gold and black, crossed by a bend or 

diagonal stripe, on which the colors are 
reversed ; and the second and third quar- 
terings being themselves quartered red 
and white, and charged with a Greek 
cross, " counterchanged " (that is, red on 
the white ground and white on the red), 
with its limbs terminating in trefoils. 
The pales of gold and black are the orig- 
inal Calvert arms, and the crosses are the 
bearings of the Crossland family, Alicia 
Grassland having been George Calvert's 
mother. Above the shield is a palatine's 
cap, resembling an earl's coronet, and denoting the Proprietary's pala- 
tinate jurisdiction, and this is surmounted by a helmet bearing a ducal 
crown, from which spring two small banners, gold and black. As 
supporters he added a ploughman and a fisherman, and beneath was a 
scroll bearing the Calvert motto, " Fatti Maschii Parole Femine." 
Surrounding the whole was the legend, " Scuto oonae voluntatis tuae 
coronasti nos." (Ps. v. 12). This beautiful device still remains the 
seal and symbol of Maryland. Gold and black are the Maryland colors, 
and the escutcheon is displayed on the Maryland flag. 

Baltimore's instructions to his first colonists, as we have said, forbade 
any discrimination on account of religious differences, or any disputes on 
matters of faith. In 1649 this policy was made law and placed on the 
statute-book in the famous " Toleration Act," as it is called. In this act 
the calling others by reproachful names on account of religious differ- 
ences was forbidden under penalties, and " the better to preserve love 
and amity," it is enacted that "no person professing to believe in Jesus 
Christ shall be in any way molested or discountenanced for or in respect 
of his religion, nor in the free exercise thereof." This act remained the 
law of the land until the Puritan supremacy in 1652. 

The Puritans came into Maryland in this way : In 1643 the Vir- 
ginia Assembly passed a law expelling all non-conformists from the 
colony, upon which many came over to Maryland, where they were 
kindly received by the Proprietary, and wide and fertile lands in Anne 
Arundel county allotted them, which they joyfully accepted, and settling 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. ° 

about the Severn river, at or near the site of the present city of Annap- 
olis, called their new home Providence. 

After the execution of Charles I, the Virginia Assembly proclaimed 
his son, Charles II, as lawful King, in defiance of the statute which 
made such a declaration high treason. So Parliament sent out commis- 
sioners with a force to reduce to submission " the plantations within the 
Chesapeake Bay," thus including Maryland, where no opposition to Par- 
liament existed. Under this authority Governor Stone was displaced, 
and William Fuller, a Puritan of Providence, with a body of commis- 
sioners, was put in possession of the government. These repealed the 
Toleration Act of 1649, and substituted an act visiting with penalties all 
adherents of "popery and prelacy," as well as Quakers, Baptists and 
other miscellaneous sects. 

Cromwell was now all-powerful in England, and, disapproving of 
their doings, wrote to the Virginia commissioners commanding them to 
leave Maryland undisturbed. Baltimore then ordered Stone to take the 
government again. As Fuller refused to surrender it, Stone marched 
against him with the men of St. Mary's, and a battle was fought on the 
shore of the Severn on March 24, 1655, in which Stone's party were 
defeated and he himself wounded. The prisoners taken were con- 
demned to death, and four of them were shot. 

News of these violent proceedings reached Cromwell, and the whole 
matter was referred for final settlement to the Commissioners of Planta- 
tions, whose decision was favorable to Baltimore. Bennett and Mat- 
thews, the Virginia commissioners, then surrendered Maryland to the 
Proprietary, who re established his government with Josias Fendall as 
Governor. 

Fendall had not been long in office when he entered into a plot to 
render himself independent of the Proprietary, and, indeed, to annul 
Baltimore's authority altogether; so he was superseded, and Baltimore's 
brother, Philip Calvert, appointed governor in his stead. The govern- 
ment was now established in the form which it retained until the Eevo- 
lution. The Proprietary, in person or by deputy, was the chief execu- 
tive, assisted by the Council. The Legislature sat in two Houses, the 
Governor and Council forming the Upper House, and the elected repre- 
sentatives of the freemen the Lower House. All legislation originated 
with the Assembly, subject to the Proprietary's assent. The form was, 
therefore, that of a liberal constitutional monarchy, with popular repre- 
sentation. 

In 1651 Charles Calvert, only son of Cecilius, was sent out as gov- 
ernor. He was liked by the people, and the Province steadily grew and 
prospered under his administration. A firm treaty of peace was made 
with the Susquehannoughs, a warlike nation of Indians at the head of 



6 MARYLAND. 

the bay, and the native tribes of Maryland were taken under the protec- 
tion of the government. Peace reigned throughout the province ; and 
the only serious grievance of the colonists was the over-production of 
tobacco, which the government in vain tried to check. Money was 
excessively scarce ; and the great staple, tobacco, was the general circu- 
lating medium for a hundred years or more. 

Cecilius Calvert died in 1675, and Charles, third Baron of Baltimore, 
succeeded to his title and dominions. During his administration 
occurred a transaction which was to result in the loss to Maryland of a 
large part of her territory. The facts in brief are these : William Penn, 
to whose father's estate the crown owed a large sum, obtained from 
King Charles II, in lieu of payment, the grant of a tract of land west of 
the Delaware River and north of Maryland. There was nothing in this 
grant that encroached upon Maryland's territory, for the fortieth paral- 
lel was named in both charters as the southern boundary of the one 
and the northern boundary of the other. Penn, however, was extremely 
anxious to carry his southern boundary to the head of the Bay; and 
after many fruitless attempts to induce Baltimore to agree to a change 
of the boundary line to his advantage, refused to join him in fixing it, 
and so the line was left undetermined. He also obtained from the Duke 
of York (afterwards James II), a grant of the land bounding on the west 
side of the Delaware Bay, south to Cape Henlopen, land which the Duke 
had no power to convey, as it was already included in the Maryland 
charter. Of this also Penn kept a firm hold. 

The Protestant revolution, as it was called, which dethroned James 
and gave the crown to William and Mary, strongly stirred men's minds, 
even in distant Maryland ; and there were always ambitious and unscru- 
pulous persons in the province ready to fan any spark of popular discon- 
tent to a blaze. Baltimore had sent out orders to have the new sover- 
eigns proclaimed, but the messenger unfortunately died on the way, and 
the delay thence resulting was used to alarm the ignorant and timid. 
Although the Protestants outnumbered the Catholics eleven or twelve to 
one, the credulous people were easily persuaded that a plot was on foot 
to bring down a force of hostile Indians, who, joining with the Catholics, 
were to make a general massacre of the Protestants. The terrified people 
hastily took up arms in various places, and the leaders of the sedition, 
headed by John Coode, a man of infamous character, placed themselves 
at their head and seized the government. This done, they wrote 
to King William, assuring him that they had acted from motives of the 
purest patriotism, and to preserve the Protestants from destruction, and 
begging him to take the government into his own hand. 

Accordingly William, without waiting for a legal investigation, 
assumed the government, and in 1692 sent out Sir Lionel Copley as the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 7 

first royal governor. The Proprietary's property and personal revenues 
were not confiscated, but the whole proprietary government was 
superseded. 

One of the first acts of the new government was to make the Church 
of England the established church of the province. Hitherto all wor- 
ship had been free, and all the churches had been supported by volun- 
tary contributions, but now all taxables had to contribute, to the extent 
of forty pounds of tobacco per poll, to maintain the establishment. 
Protestant Dissenters and Quakers were allowed their separate meeting- 
houses, if they paid the tax. 

The period of royal government was not marked by any momentous 
incident. During the administration of Francis Nicholson the seat of 
government was removed from St. Mary's to Annapolis (1694), and a 
beginning was made toward a system of free schools by the foundation 
of King William School, at the latter city. 

Charles, the third Lord Baltimore, died in 1715, and his title and 
estates went to his eldest son, Benedict Leonard, who had become a 
Protestant. He, however, died the same year, and his son Charles, a 
minor, and also a Protestant, succeeded. As the charter had never been 
rescinded, but only held in abeyance because of the Proprietary's faith, 
that reason now no longer existed; and on the petition of Charles's 
guardian, the province was restored to him in 1716. 

Little of moment occurred in the following years. In 1730 the town 
of Baltimore was laid out by commissioners appointed under an Act of 
Assembly, who bought a tract of sixty acres on the northwest branch of 
the Patapsco at forty shillings per acre, and laid it out in lots of about 
an acre each. The growth of the town was slow, and at the end of 
twenty years it had hardly more than as many houses. Annapolis, made 
the government seat by Governor Nicholson, was erected into a city 
in 1708. Frederick was laid out in 1745. 

At this time the population of Maryland numbered about 94,000 
whites. The annual export of tobacco was 28,000 hhds. and of wheat 
about 150,000 bushels. 

In 1751 Charles, the Proprietary, died, and was succeeded by his 
only son, Frederick, sixth and last Baron of Baltimore, who sent out 
Horatio Sharpe as Governor. 

In the final struggle between Great Britain and France for the posses- 
sion of Canada, Maryland suffered severely by invasions of the French 
and Indians, and after Braddock's defeat in 1756, it seemed as if her 
western counties would be depopulated ; but Governor Sharpe displayed 
great energy in the defence, and the transference of the seat of war to 
the St. Lawrence and the lakes removed the most imminent danger. 



° MARYLAND. 

The stamp tax, imposed in 1765, met with violent opposition in 
Maryland, as it did everywhere, the stamp distributor being compelled 
to fly the province, and the stamps were shipped back to England, as no 
one would use them. 

About this time the long-standing dispute about the northern bound- 
ary was finally settled, and two eminent English mathematicians, 
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, were engaged by the Proprietaries 
of Maryland and Pennsylvania to run the line between the provinces and 
mark it by suitable monuments. They began their labors in 1763 and 
continued them for four years. The line thus run is the famous Mason 
and Dixon's line, dividing the Northern from the Southern States. 

Frederick, the sixth and last Baron of Baltimore, died in 1771, leaving 
the province to his illegitimate son, Henry Harford, a minor. 

If the oppostion to the stamp tax had been fierce, that to the tea 
tax, first laid in 1767, was still fiercer, and associations were formed 
througout the province to prevent the introduction of tea. A firm of 
Annapolis merchants having, in defiance of the public sentiment, 
imported a consignment of that commodity, popular indignation rose so 
high that a town meeting was held, and the owner of the brig that had 
brought it, to avert further mischief, publicly burned his vessel, the 
Peggy Stewart, with its obnoxious cargo, in the sight of a large con- 
course of spectators, on October 19, 1774. 

The associations were felt to embody the spirit of resistance to the 
tyrannous pretensions of England, but something more organic was seen 
to be necessary, if the struggle was to be carried on with any hope of 
success, and delegates were chosen to a Convention which met in Annap- 
olis. This Convention became the depositary or organ of the sovereign 
power of the people of Maryland. It appointed the deputies to the Con- 
tinental Congress, and instructed them from time to time. As it was too 
large to remain in permanent session, a portion of its members were 
appointed a Council of Safety, which sat in Annapolis, and was the 
executive organ of the Convention, assisted by committees of correspond- 
ence in thp counties. 

The Council of Safety soon began military preparations, organizing 
the militia and providing them with military stores and equipments. 
After the battle of Lexington the Convention prepared a declaration and 
pledge, declaring the purpose of the people to resist force by force, and 
warlike preparations went on rapidly. The militia was drilled and kept 
in readiness; minute-men were enlisted, and Maryland's contingent, 
known as the Maryland Line, placed at the disposition of Congress. 

Governor Eden, finding that his presence in the colony was worse 
than useless, left the Province on June 24, 1776, and the last phantom of 
proprietary government vanished. Maryland was now a self-governed 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. » 

republic; and the Convention emphasized the fact by issuing a formal 
Declaration of Independence on the third of July. 

The Convention had always recognized itself to be a merely pro- 
visional government, uniting functions and powers which in a free State 
should be kept distinct. It therefore drew up a Bill of Rights and Con- 
stitution to be submitted to the people, and then abdicated its authority 
by a simple adjournment, leaving the direction of affairs in the hands 
of the Council of Safety ; and thus the wisest and most patriotic body 
that ever governed Maryland ceased to exist. 

The Constitution provided for a government consisting of a Gov- 
ernor and Council, a legislative body consisting of a Senate and House 
of Delegates, and other inferior executive officers. It was adopted by 
the people, and ratified at the elections. Thomas Johnson, the first 
elected Governor, was inaugurated in March, 1777, and the Council of 
Safety dissolved itself. Maryland thus became a sovereign and inde- 
pendent State, but she did not enter the Confederation until 1781, when 
she came in as the thirteenth and last State. 

During the War of the Revolution no military operations of impor- 
tance took place on the soil of Maryland, though the Maryland troops 
fought with distinguished valor in many engagements, especially those 
at Long Island, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford, and Eutaw Springs. Balti- 
more was threatened early in the war with a naval attack, but the 
Baltimoreans had fitted out an armed ship, the Defence, and on her 
approach the enemy retired without doing any injury. 

After the successful close of the war, General Washington resigned 
his commission to Congress in the Senate Chamber of the State-house, at 
Annapolis, on December 22, 1783. 

In 1791 Maryland ceded to the United States the present District of 
Columbia to be the permanent seat of the Federal Government. 

In the war of 1812 with Great Britain, Maryland bore a distinguished 
part. The number of privateers that sailed from Baltimore, and their 
efficiency in crippling British, commerce, drew upon her the especial 
wrath of the enemy, whose cruisers depredated the towns and settle- 
ments on the shores of the Bay. In August, 1814, an expedition under 
General Ross, marching through Maryland to the attack of Washington, 
was met at Bladensburg by a force, chiefly of Marylanders and Virgin- 
ians, and the Americans sustained a severe defeat and retreated, leaving 
the way open to Washington, which was plundered and the public 
buildings burned. 

In the following month a formidable force was sent to attack Balti- 
more by land and water. The approach to the city was defended by 
Fort McHenry and several hastily constructed batteries, and on the land 
side by earthworks. Part of the enemy's forces were disembarked at 



10 MAKYLAND. 

North Point at the mouth of the Patapsco, but on the inarch toward the 
city they were met by a detachment of Maryland forces under General 
Strieker, and a skirmish followed on September 12, in which General 
Ross, the British commander, was killed ; the Marylanders retiring in 
good order. This was called the battle of North Point; and the Battle 
Monument, as it is called in Baltimore, preserves the names of those who 
fell in defence of the city. 

The British forces continued their march until they reached the 
defenders' lines, when they halted, awaiting the co-operation of the 
fleet. This was checked in its advance by Fort McHenry at the mouth 
of the harbor, which was fiercely bombarded for a day and night without 
effect, and an attempt to land men in boats was repulsed with heavy loss 
by the batteries. As the combined attack on the city was thus frus- 
trated, the plan was abandoned. The patriotic song, " The Star-spangled 
Banner," was written on this occasion by Mr. Francis Scott Key, a 
Marylander, who had gone on board the British Admiral's ship with a 
flag of truce, and was detained on board during the bombardment. 
Peace with Great Britain was concluded in December. 

For nearly fifty years after the peace, the history of Maryland is a 
story of peaceful prosperity. Canals and railroads were constructed, 
developing the internal resources of the State, the most important being 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, work on which was begun in 1828. 

The outbreak of the war between the States in 1861 found the people 
of Maryland divided in sentiment, though the greater number strongly 
sympathized with the sister States of the South. A Massachusetts 
regiment marching through Baltimore on its way to Washington was 
pelted with stones by a mob, and fired into the people, several persons 
being killed on both sides. The city and State, however, were soon 
under control of the Federal forces. 

No considerable battle was fought on Maryland soil during the war, 
except that of Sharpsburg, in Washington county, on September 16 and 
17, 1862, and she was thus spared the devastation which follows the 
track of hostile armies. 

With the restoration of peace and civil government, Maryland again 
entered upon a career of prosperity, the material results of which will 
appear in the following pages. The emancipation of the slaves altered, 
of course, many of the conditions of industry ; but as she had been less 
dependent on slave labor than the more Southern States, its cessation did 
not leave her paralysed. The agricultural interests suffered for a time ; 
but on the whole the change has been beneficial. The greater efficiency 
of hired labor, and its comparative scarcity, has driven the farmers to 
more scientific and economical farming, to the abandonment of old 
routine and traditional methods and crops, and to the higher cultivation 
of smaller areas, as will be explained in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER II. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



The prosperity of a country is, to a large degree, dependent upon its 
physical surroundings. Their character determines the pursuits of its 
inhabitants, and thus, indirectly, their social, political and financial 
welfare. The residents' of a mountainous district have their peculiar 
occupations, while those of the lowland find their employment in other 
ways. If the region borders the sea or inland bodies of water still other 
means of livelihood are sought by its people. The climate, whether hot 
or cold, humid or dry, variable or constant, likewise affects the develop- 
ment of the region. It becomes important, therefore, to know something 
of the physical features of a country or a State if one would understand 
its past history or indicate the lines of future prosperity. 

When we come to examine the physical features of the State of 
Maryland we find the greatest diversity in surface configuration and 
climate. From its eastern to its western borders may be found a 
succession of districts suitable, from their physical surroundings, for the 
most diverse employments. Maryland possesses portions of all the 
characteristic divisions of the eastern United States. There is no State 
in the country which has a greater variety in its natural surroundings. 

In the succeeding pages of this chapter the Physical Features will 
be considered under the four following headings, viz : Topography, 
Climate, Water Supply and Water Power. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

The topography, or surface configuration of the State, will be best 
understood after a brief account of the leading features of the eastern 
United States, since Maryland is only a portion of a larger and definite 
topographic region. An examination of a relief map of the United States 
shows a gradual elevation east of the Mississippi Valley to the great 
mountainous area bordering the eastern side of the continent, beyond 
which the country slopes at first rapidly, then gradually, to the Atlantic 
coast. 

The mountainous area is known under the name of the Appalachian 
Region, while the hilly country which stretches along its eastern base 
has been called the Piedmont Plateau. To the east of the latter and 



12 MARYLAND. 

occupying the region bordering the Atlantic coast is a low, level area 
which has been termed the Coastal Plain. 

A brief characterization of these leading topographic divisions of 
the eastern United States will precede a more detailed description of the 
Maryland area.* 

The Coastal Plain, as a continuous tract, begins in New Jersey on 
the south shore of Raritan Bay, where it has a width of about 20 miles, 
and extends thence southward, constantly broadening, until, in Georgia, 
it reaches fully 150 miles. North of New Jersey it is continued in the 
islands of Long Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket, and other land 
areas bordering the New England coast. 

The Coastal Plain is characterized by broad, level stretches of slight 
elevation, cut by the larger rivers that flow across the area from the 
Piedmont Plateau, and the smaller rivers and tributaries that have their 
sources within it. All the streams have sluggish currents, and the 
drainage of the land is imperfect. Throughout, the country is deeply 
indented with tidal estuaries and bays, the heads of which often reach 
quite to the border of the Piedmont Plateau, and at many points admit 
the entrance of the largest ocean-going vessels. 

The deeper channels are generally the continuation of the leading 
rivers which suddenly change in character as they enter the Coastal Plain, 
with great loss in the velocity of their currents. The name " fall-line " 
has been given to this boundary on that account. The inland border of 
the Coastal Plain thus marks the head of navigation, and has likewise 
conditioned, from the earliest times, the leading highways of trade 
which connect the North and the South. Along this line have grown 
up the larger cities of the Atlantic seaboard. Trenton, Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, Petersburg, Columbia, Augusta, 
together with other less populous centres, are thus situated. 

To the west of the Coastal Plain, and extending to the base of the 
mountainous area, is a region of somewhat greater elevation than that 
which has just been described. It is known under the name of the 
Piedmont Plateau. 

To the north, in New England, it is less clearly defined than along 
the Middle and South Atlantic slope, where it occurs as a broken, hilly 
country, with undulating surface, but with few ranges of mountains of 
conspicuous altitude or great extent. It broadens from New York south- 
ward, reaching its greatest width in North Carolina, where it extends 
quite 300 miles from the base of the Appalachian Mountains. Through- 

*See Whitney, J. D.. United States. Physical Geography and Geology. Encyclopedia Britannica. 
vol. XXIII, pp. 791-802. 

McGee, W. J., Three Formations of the Middle Atlantic Slope. Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 35, 
pp. 120-124. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 13 

out most of the Piedmont Plateau the streams flow with rapid currents, 
and the country is fully drained. 

The area of high land, known as the Appalachian Region, extends 
from Cape Gaspe, in Canada, southward to Alabama, a distance of 1,300 
miles. To the south of New York it is divided into three more or less 
clearly defined regions. 

The eastern district is composed of ranges of mountains called in 
Pennsylvania the South Mountains, but known in Maryland, Virginia 
and North Carolina under the name of the Blue Ridge. South of Vir- 
ginia the eastern belt increases in width, and somewhat changes its 
character, and in North Carolina contains the highest points in the 
whole Appalachian system. On the western border of the Blue Ridge 
lies the Great Valley, which, in Pennsylvania, is about 10 miles in 
width, but broadens southward, attaining in Virginia, for a distance of 
300 miles, a nearly uniform width of 20 miles. It forms one of the 
richest agricultural belts within the Appalachian Region. 

The central district is known as the Appalachian Region proper, and 
is characterized by parallel ranges throughout the whole length of the 
mountainous area. The continuity of the ranges is .frequently inter- 
rupted from structural and other causes, but sharp ridges and deep 
valleys everywhere abound. 

The western district is characterized by undulating ranges which 
rise from a high plateau that gradually decreases in elevation westward, 
until it merges into the rolling country of the Mississippi Valley. 
Along the eastern side of this western area of highland are the Alleghany 
Mountains. They continue as parallel ranges throughout the region, 
which is commonly known as the Alleghany District. 

After this revietv of the leading topographic features of the Eastern 
United States, let us turn our attention to a consideration of the Mary- 
land area. 

The three regions which have been outlined above, viz : The Coastal 
Plain, the Piedmont Plateau and the Appalachian Region, are all 
typically represented within the limits of the State of Maryland, and 
have conditioned, to a marked extent, its economic development. 

THE COASTAL PLAIN. 

The Coastal Plain forms the eastern portion of the State, and com- 
prises the area between the Atlantic Ocean, and a line passing N. E. to 
S. W., from Wilmington to Washington, through Baltimore. This region 
includes very nearly 5,000 square miles, or, approximately, one-half the 
area of the State. It is about 100 miles broad in its widest part. 

The Coastal Plain is characterized by broad, level-topped stretches 
of country which extend, with gradually increasing elevations, from the 



14 MARYLAND. 

coastal border, where tlie land is but slightly raised above sea level, to 
its western edge, where heights of 300 feet and more are found. As the 
region is cut quite to the border of the Piedmont Plateau with tidal 
estuaries, the topography becomes more and more pronounced in passing 
inland from the coast. The Chesapeake Bay extends nearly across its 
full length from north to south, while the larger rivers and their tribu- 
taries deeply indent the region in all directions, making the coast-line 
in Maryland one of the longest in the country. 

The Coastal Plain in Maryland may be divided into a lower eastern 
and a higher western division, separated by the Chesapeake Bay. The 
former is known under the name of Eastern Maryland (or Eastern Shore), 
while the latter is commonly referred to as Southern Maryland. 

The eastern division includes the counties of Worcester, Somerset, 
Wicomico, Dorchester, Caroline, Talbot, Queen Anne, Kent, and part of 
Cecil. To this region most of the State of Delaware also properly 
belongs. Nowhere, except in the extreme north, does it reach 100 feet 
in elevation, while most of the country is below 25 feet in height. Both 
on the Atlantic coast and the shore of the Chesapeake, it is deeply 
indented by bays and estuaries. 

The drainage of the region is simple, the streams flowing from 
the watershed directly to the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay upon the 
east, and to the Chesapeake Bay upon the west. The position of the 
watershed, along the extreme eastern edge of the area, is very striking. 
In Worcester county, for much of the distance, it is only a few miles 
from the coast. As a result, the streams which flow to the east are 
small in comparison to those which drain to the west. Among the more 
important rivers which reach the Chesapeake Bay are the Pocomoke, 
Nanticoke, Choptank and Chester, which all have their headwaters 
within the State of Delaware, and flow in a general southwest direction 
in sinuous channels. 

The western division includes the counties of St. Mary's, Calvert, 
Charles, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and portions of Baltimore, 
Harford and Cecil. In elevation it stands in striking contrast to the 
eastern division, since it frequently exceeds 100 feet in height, even 
along its eastern margin. In lower St. Mary's county the land reaches 
an elevation of 100 feet not far from the bay shore, which is gradually 
increased until, near the border of Charles county, it slightly exceeds 
180 feet. In southern Calvert county an elevation of 140 feet is 
found to the west of Cove Point, and this gradually increases to the 
northward, until near the southern boundary of Anne Arundel county, 
the land rises above 180 feet. Farther to the northwest, in Charles, 
Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties, the land increases gradually 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 15 

in height, reaching 280 feet to the east of Washington, and this is con- 
tinued with slight decrease to the northeastward toward Baltimore. 

The western division is traversed by several rivers which flow from 
the Piedmont Plateau. Among the more important are the Potomac, 
Patuxent, Patapsco, Gunpowder and Susquehanna. The course of the 
Potomac is very striking. After flowing in a nearly southeast direction, 
across the hard rocks of the Piedmont Plateau, it is, apparently, abruptly 
turned aside by the soft materials of the Coastal Plain, and takes a 
course for forty miles nearly at right angles to that which it has for- 
merly held. It turns again as abruptly to the southeast, and flows in 
that direction to the Chesapeake Bay. 

The local drainage of the western division is similar to that hitherto 
described for the eastern. The streams throughout southern Maryland 
flow chiefly to the westward. The water-shed of the region lying 
between the Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent River is situated but a 
short distance from the shores of the latter, most of the natural drain- 
age of Calvert county reaching the Patuxent River. A still more 
striking instance of this is seen in St. Mary's, Charles and Prince 
George's counties, where the streams nearly all flow to the Potomac 
River, the water-shed of the region approaching very close to the valley 
of the Patuxent. The same peculiarity of drainage is found to the 
southward, in Virginia and the Carolinas. 

THE PIEDMONT PLATEAU. 

The Piedmont Plateau borders the Coastal Plain upon the west, and 
extends to the base of the Catoctin Mountains. It includes, approxi- 
mately, 2,500 square miles, or about one-fourth of the area of the State. 
It is nearly forty miles in width in the southern portion of the region, 
but gradually broadens toward the north, until it reaches 65 miles. It 
includes all, or the greater part of Montgomery, Howard, Baltimore, 
Harford, Carroll and Frederick counties. The country is broken by low, 
undulating hills, which gradually increase in elevation to the. westward. 

The Piedmont Plateau in Maryland, is divided very nearly in its 
central portion by an area of highland known as Parr's Ridge, into an 
eastern and western district. In the character of the rocks these 
divisions afford sharp distinctions, which are not without their effect 
upon the relief of the land. 

The eastern division has, on account of its crystalline rocks and 
their complicated structure, a diversified topography. Along the eastern 
margin the land attains, at several points, heights exceeding 400 feet, 
reaching at Catonsville 525 feet above sea level. To the west the 
country gradually increases in elevation, until it culminates in Parr's 
Ridge, which exceeds 850 feet in Carroll county. 



16 MARYLAND. 

The drainage of the eastern district is to the east and southeast. 
On its northern and southern boundaries it is traversed by the Susque- 
hanna and Potomac rivers, which have their sources without the area, 
while the smaller streams, which lie between them, either drain directly 
to the Chesapeake Bay, or into the two main rivers. Among the larger 
of the intermediate streams are the Patuxent, Patapsco and Gunpowder 
rivers, whose headwaters are situated upon Parr's Ridge. The Patapsco, 
especially, flows in a deep rocky gorge until it leaches the Relay, where 
it debouches into the Coastal Plain. All these streams have rapid 
currents as far as the eastern border of the Piedmont Plateau, and even 
in the case of the largest, are not navigable. 

The broad, fertile limestone valleys are a striking feature in this 
area, and are represented to the north of Baltimore in the Green Spring 
and Dulaney's valleys. On account of the complicated character of the 
stratigraphy, the valleys take different directions, and are of different 
form and extent. 

The western division extends from Parr's Ridge to the Catoctin 
Mountains. Along its western side is the broad limestone valley in 
which Frederick is situated, and through which flows the Monocacy 
River from north to south, entering the Potomac River at the boundary 
line between Montgomery and Frederick counties. The valley, near 
Frederick, has an elevation of 250 feet above tide, which changes slowly 
to the eastward toward Parr's Ridge, and very rapidly to the westward 
toward the Catoctin Mountains. Situated on the eastern side of the 
valley, just above the mouth of the Monocacy River, and breaking the 
regularity of this surface outline is Sugar Loaf Mountain, which rises 
rapidly to a height of 1,250 feet. 

With the exception of a few streams which flow into the Potomac 
directly, the entire drainage of the western district is accomplished by 
the Monocacy River and its numerous tributaries, which flow in nearly 
parallel west and east courses, from Parr's Ridge and the Catoctin Moun- 
tains. As the deepest portion of the valley lies considerably to the west 
of the centre of the district, the streams upon the east are longer and of 
greater volume than those upon the west. The water-ways at a distance 
from the main valley, flow in well-marked channels, which are 
frequently deeply cut into the land. 

THE APPALACHIAN EEGION. 

The Appalachian Region forms the western portion of Maryland, 

'bordering the Piedmont Plateau. It comprises about 2,000 square miles, 

or, approximately, one-fifth the area of the State. It includes the 

western portion of Frederick, and all of Washington, Alleghany and 

Garrett counties. It consists of a series of parallel mountain ranges 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 17 

with deep valleys, which are cut nearly at right angles by the Potomac 
River. Many of the ranges exceed 2,000 feet, while some reach 3,000 feet 
and more, in the western portion of the mountainous area. 

The Appalachian Region is divided into three distinct districts, an 
eastern (Blue Ridge and Great Valley), a central (Appalachian Mountains 
proper) and western (Alleghany Mountains), which are separated from 
one another upon clearly defined structural differences. 

The eastern division comprises the area between the Catoctin and 
the North Mountains, and has a width of about 25 miles from east to 
west. Along the eastern border of this region the Catoctin Mountains 
extend from north to south, reaching the Potomac river at Point of 
Rocks. They attain an altitude of 1,800 feet. Succeeding this range 
upon the west is the Middletown Valley, with an elevation of 500 feet 
at Middletown. Running through its centre from north to south is the 
Catoctin Creek, which receives the drainage from the western flanks of 
the Catoctin Mountains and the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge. The 
Blue Ridge Mountains are a continuation of the South Mountains of 
Pennsylvania, and extend as a sharply defined range from the northern 
boundary of the State to the Potomac river, which they reach at 
Weverton. Their crest forms the boundary between Frederick and 
Washington counties. The Blue Ridge reaches an elevation of about 
2,400 feet at Quirauk. The Blue Ridge of Virginia is not the direct 
continuation of the mountains so named in Maryland, but of a smaller 
range, the Elk Ridge Mountains, that adjoin them upon the west. They 
are pierced by the Potomac river at Harper's Ferry. 

Occupying the greater part of this eastern district, and reaching to 
its western border, is the Hagerstown Valley, a portion of the Great 
Valley of the Appalachian Region hitherto described. It reaches an 
altitude of about 500 feet at Hagerstown, but gradually becomes lower 
toward the south in the vicinity of the Potomac river. The Antietam 
River and its tributaries occupy the eastern side of the valley, and the 
Conococheague River and its tributaries the western. The central portion 
of the valley is accordingly somewhat higher than its sides. 

The central division, which comprises the Appalachian Mountains 
proper, is bounded by the North Mountain upon the east and Will's 
Mountain, near Cumberland, upon the west. Prof. H. D. Rogers describes 
this district as follows in his report of the First Geological Survey of 
Pennsylvania : " It is a complex chain of long, narrow, very level 
mountain ridges, separated by long, narrow, parallel valleys. These 
ridges sometimes end abruptly in swelling knobs, and sometimes taper 
off in long slender points. Their slopes are singularly uniform, being 
in many cases unvaried by ravine or gully for many miles ; in other 
instances they are trenched at equal intervals with great regularity. 



18 MARYLAND. 

Their crests are, for tile most part, sharp, and they preserve an extra- 
ordinarily equable elevation, being only here and there interrupted by- 
notches or gaps, which sometimes descend to the water level, so as to give 

passage to the rivers [Potomac] The ridges are variously arranged 

in groups with long, narrow crests, some of which preserve a remarkable 
straightness for great distances, while others bend with a prolonged and 
regular sweep. In many instances two narrow contiguous parallel moun- 
tain crests unite at their extremities and enclose a narrow oval valley, 
which, with its sharp mountain sides, bears not unfrequently a marked 
resemblance to a long, slender, sharp-pointed canoe." Among the more 
important of the ranges in Maryland west of North Mountain are 
Tonoloway Hill, Sideling Hill, Town Hill, Green Eidge, Warrior Ridge 
and Martin's Eidge, the two latter reaching 2,000 feet and upwards in 
elevation. They are arranged in groups of three parallel and closely 
adjoining ridges on the east and west, with more distant ranges in the 
middle of the district. 

The drainage is altogether to the southward into the Potomac. The 
deeper valleys in the eastern portion of the region have an elevation of 
about 500 feet in the vicinity of the Potomac, but they gradually became 
higher toward the west. Evett's Creek, at its mouth, near Cumberland, 
has an elevation of about 600 feet above sea level. 

The western division occupies the extreme western portion of Mary- 
land, and includes the Alleghany Mountains in its eastern half. They 
gradually merge into a high plateau, with gently undulating mountains 
rising from the surface, which continue beyond the western borders 
of the State. The leading ranges of this district are Dan's Mountain, 
Savage Mountain, Meadow Mountain, Negro Mountain, Winding Eidge 
and Laurel Hill. Heights of 3,000 feet and more are reached in Savage 
and Negro Mountains. 

The partially-adjusted streams give much variety to the topography. 
They flow in part to the southward into the Potomac, but in Garrett 
county the greater number drain to the northward through the Youghio- 
gheny Eiver into the Monongahela. 

This separation of the drainage has particular interest, since it 
marks the water-shed between the streams which flow into the Potomac 
and thus reach the sea by the eastern slope of the Appalachian Moun- 
tains, and those which flow to the Gulf by way of the Ohio and 
Mississippi Eivers. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of Maryland is greatly diversified by reason of the 
complexity of its surface configuration, the presence of the sea upon its 
eastern borders, the great area of highland which occupies the western 
division, and the bays and estuaries which- deeply indent the land in all 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



19 



directions in the Chesapeake region. On account of these disturbing 
conditions, the same parallels of latitude show very great variations in 
the character of the climate. 

Although the climate in general is what is known as continental, it 
is greatly modified in the eastern portion of the State by the ocean and 
the Chesapeake Bay, and in the extreme southeast becomes almost 
oceanic or insular, surrounded as the land is on nearly all sides by water. 

A description of the climate of the State has been rendered possible 
as a result of the extended observations of the Maryland State Weather 
Service, which was organized two years ago, under the joint auspices of 
the Johns Hopkins University, the Maryland Agricultural College and 
the United States Weather Bureau, and was recognized by the Legisla- 
ture of the State at its last session. Over fifty stations have been 
established in the several counties, so that every important variation 
which takes place within the limits of the State may be observed. 
Many records of temperature and rainfall were kept at isolated points 
throughout the State before the organization of the State Service, and 
these, together with the fuller and more accurate observations which 
have been taken during the last two years, afford the data upon which 
the conclusions of this chapter will be based. 

The climate of the State will be considered under the following 
heads, viz : — Temperature, Precipitation, Humidity, Winds, Barometric 
Pressure, Medical Climatology. 

TEMPERATURE. 

The great diversity in the physical features of Maryland, with its 
consequent effect upon the climate, renders a characterization of the 
temperature of the State, as a whole, quite impossible. The difference 
between the coastal portions and the mountainous regions is so great 
that the monthly, seasonal and annual means for the State do not of 
necessity indicate the temperature for any single locality, although 
they are of interest in making comparisons with other areas. The 
following table of mean temperatures of the State is made up from 
all the localities which are mentioned in the later lists, and includes 
all the authentic observations : 









TABLE OF MEAN 


rEMPEEATURE 


FOR 


MARYLAND. 








Monthly Mean. 


Seasonal Mean. 


pi 


03 

a 

C3 


ft 

34.8 


3 


ft 
<1 




a 
72.5 


1-5 

75.8 


< 


1 
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O 

5 « 


!> 
c 


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a 

ft 

w 


1 

a 


a" 

a 
< 


3 
% 


% 

g 

s 
< 


32.8 


39.6 


51.7 


02. G 


74.3 


66.9 


44.0 


35.5 


51.2 


74.0 


55.0 


34.4 


53.8 



20 



MARYLAND. 



Upon an examination of the table it will be observed that the coldest 
month is January, with an average mean temperature of 32.8°, while the 
warmest month is July, with an average mean temperature of 75.8°, a 
difference of 43°. The greatest changes in mean temperature take place 
in the Spring and Autumn months, while those in Summer and Winter 
are very slight. 

Since the temperature is modified to a marked degree by altitude 
and proximity to the sea, the State of Maryland will naturally fall into 
the four following divisions, the topographic features of which have 
been already described, viz : 

Eastern Maryland "i 

Southern Maryland ) = 0oa ° tal p l<*™- 

Northern Central Mar yland= Piedmont Plateau. 

Western Mar yland= Appalachian Region. 

An examination of the following tables will show the differences in 
temperature which are found in the several districts. Since Eastern 
Maryland extends much farther north than Southern Maryland its mean 
temperature is lower, although it is generally warmer at the same 
latitude : 

TABLE OF MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE FOUR CLIMATIC DIVISIONS OF MARYLAND. 



Climatic Divisions. 



Eastern Maryland ;34.8 

Southern Maryland 35.3 

Northern Central Maryland 30.7 

Western Maryland 30.5 



h 



36.1 
37.4 
33.9 



40.552.6 

42.353.4 

I 
38.250.9 



31.6 37.2 49.8 



62.172.8 

I 
63.974.1 

5,72.8 

7 70.3 



75.8 

7.7 

75.7 

73.8 



<n i to 



74.867.556.5 
75.768.656.6 
72.465.854.2 

74.265.851.4 



55 3 
46.5 

42.8 
41.2 



37.3 
37.6 
34.0 
33.0 



Climatic Divisions. 



Eastern Maryland 

Southern Maryland 

Northern Central Maryland 
Western Maryland 



Seasons. 



to 



51.7 
53.1 
50.6 
49.4 



02 



74.5 
75.5 
73.5 

72.7 



55.8 
57.2 
54.3 
52.7 



33.1 

31.7 



H 



54.5 
55.6 
53.0 
52.0 



Seasonal Changes. 






15.6 
16.2 
17.5 
17.7 



as 
coco 



22.8 
22.4 
22.9 
23.3 



2 S 



■18.7 
■18.3 
■19.2 
20.0 



■19.7 
-20.3 
■21.2 
21.0 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 21 

It will be observed that the mean annual, temperature of the western 
division is 52°, while that of the southern is 55.6°, a difference of 3.6°. 
The mean annual temperature has a much greater range, however, when 
the extremities of the State are compared. An examination of Plate VI 
will show the isothermal line of 50° passing through Garrett and 
Alleghany counties and bending down along the high ridge of the Pied- 
mont Plateau into Carroll and Baltimore counties, while the isothermal 
line of 58° crosses Worcester and Somerset counties to the Virginia shore 
of the Chesapeake. There is thus a difference of over 8° in the annual 
means between the northern and western, and the southern portions of 
the State. 

The seasonal isothermal lines upon the charts indicate a still wider 
range in mean temperature between the western and southeastern portions 
of the State. In spring it ranges from 56° to 44°, a difference of 12°; in 
summer from 77° to 69°, a difference of 8°; in autumn from 60° to 50°, 
a difference of 10°; and in winter from 40° to 27°, a difference of 13°. 

On Plate I will be found a graphic representation of the annual 
range of temperature in the four climatic divisions. The vertical lines 
represent the months, and the horizontal the degrees of temperature, 
while the curved lines indicate the climatic divisions. Each intersection 
of a vertical line by a curved line marks the mean temperature for the 
month. The rapid changes in spring and autumn, and the relatively 
slight changes in summer and winter, are clearly brought out by this 
means. 

Eastern Maryland. This portion of the State has been hitherto 
designated as the eastern division of the Coastal Plain, and its low level 
surface described. Deeply indented by tidal estuaries and bordered by 
the ocean, its temperature is much modified by the surrounding water. 

The southern portion of the area has a mean annual temperature of 
58°, the highest in the State. In passing to the northward the tempera- 
ture changes at first rapidly, the isothermal lines of 57° and 56° following 
at short intervals. The greater portion of the eastern division, however, 
is found between the isothermal lines of 56° and 54°, while in the extreme 
north the temperature again changes rapidly, the isothermal lines of 53° 
and 52° following each other at short intervals. The extreme range in 
the mean annual temperature is thus found to be 6°. 

The mean seasonal variations between the southern and northern 
portions of the region are also distinctly marked. As in the case of the 
annual means, the isothermal lines do not succeed each other in all 
instances at regular intervals. 

The mean temperature for spring ranges from 50° in the north to 56° 
in the south. An examination of Plate II will show, however, that the 
greater portion of the region is found between the means of 51° and 53°. 



22 MARYLAND. 

In summer there is very little range in mean temperature between the 
northern and southern portions of the district. The entire region lies 
between the isothermals of 74° and 76°. 

In autumn the range in mean temperature is the same as in spring, 
amounting to 6°. Although the extremes are found between 54° and 60°, 
the greater portion of the region lies between 55° and 57°. 

The greatest difference in mean temperature is found in winter. The 
variation is then 9°, and the mean temperature ranges from 31° in the 
north to 40° in the south. There is a much more gradual change than at 
other seasons, the isothermals being found approximately equidistant 
from one another. 

Reference to the tables will show the names and number of the 
stations in Eastern Maryland, together with the local monthly and 
seasonal variations in mean temperature which occur. 

Southern Maryland. The southern portion of the State has been 
already described as the western division of the Coastal Plain. The 
surface of the land is somewhat higher and more broken than in Eastern 
Maryland, but is still low and flat. On account of this general uniformity 
throughout the area, together with its limited extent from north to south, 
the variations in mean temperature are not very striking. The annual 
means seldom exceed that of Baltimore, which is 55.6°, by more than 2°, 
while Leonardtown and several other places have almost the same average 
temperature. At a few points, owing to local causes, the mean annual 
temperature is even lower. 

With the exception of the winter temperature, the mean seasonal 
temperatures show very slight variations, seldom reaching more than two 
degrees. In spring the region is crossed by the isothermal lines of 53° 
and 54°, in summer of 75°, 76° and 77°, in autumn of 57°, 58°, 59° and 60°, 
the two latter, however, only touching the southern portion of St. Mary's 
county. In winter, on the other hand, variations of four or five degrees 
are found, the isothermal lines of 36°, 37°, 38°, 39° and 40° succeeding 
one another at very nearly equal intervals. 

The interior portion of the country is warmer during the spring, 
summer and autumn months, but cooler during the winter. 

The names and number of the stations in Southern Maryland are given 
in the following tables. 

Norther n-(Jentral Maryland. The hilly country which borders the 
Coastal Plain upon the east, has been already described under the name 
of the Piedmont Plateau. It is here referred to under the name of 
Northern-Central Maryland. The rapid streams, and moderate though 
complex relief of the land, have been mentioned as characteristic 
features of the area. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 23 

The mean annual temperature of the region ranges from 50° to 55°. 
The coldest portions are found along the higher land of the Piedmont 
belt, which culminates in Parr's Kidge. The Frederick valley is consid- 
erably warmer, corresponding in this respect to the eastern slope in 
Montgomery and Howard comities. 

The mean seasonal temperatures have the same general relations to 
the topography as the annual temperatures. The high, central portion of 
the Piedmont area is at all seasons several degrees colder than the eastern 
slope or the Frederick valley. The spring means vary from 48° to 53°, 
the summer from 69° to 75°, the autumn from 52° to 57°, and the winter 
from 29° to 36°, which indicates a slightly greater range in temperature 
in the winter and summer than in the spring and autumn. 

The names and number of stations will be found in the tables which 
follow. 

Western Maryland. The portion of the State which is here con- 
sidered under the name of Western Maryland, has been previously 
described as the Appalachian Region. It consists of parallel ranges of 
mountains, with deep valleys, which drain chiefly into the Potomac River. 
The mountains reach 3,000 feet and more in altitude, and in the west 
rise from a high plateau, which declines gradually beyond the limits of 
the State. 

As might be anticipated, there is on this account a general lowering 
of the temperature throughout the entire district. 

So far as conclusions can be drawn from the records of temperature, 
which are not altogether satisfactory, the valleys are warmer than the 
mountains. This is best seen in the Hagerstown valley, where the 
isothermals invariably bend to the westward. In the smaller valleys 
few continuous observations have been taken, while, practically, none are 
recorded from the mountains, with which comparisons may be made. 

There is a slight decrease in the mean annual temperature in passing 
from the eastern to the western portions of the region. The range is 
from 50° to 53°, making a difference of 3°. 

This is shown more distinctly hi the case of the seasonal means, 
particularly in the spring and winter. In the spring the mean tempera- 
ture varies from 44° to 52° ; in summer, from 70° to 75° ; in autumn, 
from 50° to 54° ; in winter, from 27° to 34°, which shows a greater varia- 
tion in spring and winter than in summer and autumn. 

The names and number of the stations are shown in the accompany- 
ing tables : 



24 



MARYLAND. 





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34 



MARYLAND. 



PRECIPITATION. 

The atmospheric precipitation in Maryland occurs both as rain and 
snow. There is no portion of the State in which either is entirely 
wanting, although the snowfall is far less in the eastern and southern 
districts than in the northern and western. The snowfall never fails 
completely even in the warmest winters, although it may he reduced to 
insignificant proportions. 

The precipitation is more or less equally distributed throughout the 
months, when the means for a long term of years are taken into con- 
sideration, although wet and dry periods characterize the seasons of a 
single year, causing marked variations from the normal. A certain con- 
stant increase in the mean precipitation is found to occur in the spring 
and late summer, with a corresponding decrease in the autumn and 
whiter. 

The western portion of the State has a less amount of annual precipi- 
tation than the eastern. A heavy rainfall characterizes the region which 
lies to the east of the Catoctin Mountains, the easterly winds, as they 
reach the highlands, precipitating their moisture in the Frederick valley 
and over the western slope of the Piedmont Plateau. The eastern slope 
of the Piedmont Plateau has again less precipitation. 

The western portion of the Coastal Plain has a much drier climate 
than the eastern, although numerous local exceptions appear. For exam- 
ple, the western shores of the Chesapeake have relatively much greater 
precipitation than the eastern, which makes the average precipitation for 
Southern Maryland exceed that for Eastern Maryland. The central and 
western portion of Eastern Maryland has a much greater rainfall than 
the area bordering the Atlantic. 

The precipitation generally accompanies the areas of low pressure 
which traverse the country from west to east, and pass to the north of 
Maryland. It commonly occurs on their eastern front during the preva- 
lence of easterly winds. 

In the following table will be found the mean monthly, seasonal and 
annual precipitation for the State as a whole, and the four climatic 
divisions of the same, which have been previously characterized. 





TABLE OF MEAN PRECIPITATION FOR MARYLAND. 








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Graphical Representation of Mean Temperatures in theFonr Climatic Divisions of Maryland. 

JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV DEC JAN 

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JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN 

WESTERN MARYLAND EASTERN MARYLAN D 

NORTHERN-CENTRAL MARYLAND SOUTH ER N MARYLAN D 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 35 

TABLE OF MEAN PRECIPITATION FOR MARYLAND — CONTINUED. 





Seasons. 








# 


■ 










a 


a 

3 


S 






























02 


«i 


£ 


a; 




12.88 


11.60 


9.64 


9.31 


42.43 



TABLE OF MEAN PRECIPITATION IN THE FOUR CLIMATIC DIVISIONS 
OF MARYLAND. 



Climatic Divisions. 



Eastern Maryland 

Southern Maryland 

Northern Central Maryland 
Western Maryland 



3 51 
3.20 
3.50 
3.01 



3.22 
3.51 
3.10 
a. 45 



4.06 
4.20 
4.39 
3.02 



4.044.29 
4.114.40 
3. 6214.06 

3.23 4 



3.18 
3.70 
3.48 
4.53 



4 

4.42 

4.45 

2.77 



3.393.04 
3.802 
4.03i2.74 
3.462.35 



2.70 
4.11 
3.25 

2.82 



2.67 
60 

3.13 
35 



Climatic Divisions. 



Eastern Maryland 

Southern Maryland 

Northern Central Maryland 
Western Maryland 



Seasons. 



CQ 



cc 



12.39 
12.71 
12.07 
10.33 



11.74 
11.96 
11.91 
10.78 



9.13 

10.77 
10.02 
8.63 



9.40 
9.31 
9.73 

8.81 



42.66 
44.75 
43.73 
38.55 



On the succeeding pages are given the stations at which the longest 
records of precipitation have been kept. They vary from one to over 
fifty years. At Fort McHenry, in Baltimore Harbor, there is an almost 
continuous record since 1836. In Baltimore City the earliest data were 
collected in 1817, but there have been numerous breaks in the record. 

The variations in annual rainfall are quite marked in some instances. 
The lowest recorded annual rainfall in Baltimore, for example, was in 
1819, when there were 28.75 inches; the greatest was in 1846, when there 
were 62.04 inches, while the mean annual rainfall is 44.34 inches. At Fort 
McHenry the lowest annual rainfall reported is 22.43 inches, in 1870; the 
highest, 66.38 inches, in 1889. Records have also been kept at other 
places for a considerable period, and similar striking variations in the 
annual precipitation are found. 



36 



MARYLAND. 






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PHYSICAL FEATURES. 



37 



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38 



MARYLAND. 



HUMIDITY. 

The capacity of tlie atmosphere to hold moisture varies, hut vapor of 
water is always present in greater or less amounts. When the atmosphere 
is near saturation the air is moist, but when it is capable of taking more 
water it becomes dry in proportion to the amount which can thus be 
taken. If the saturated state is taken as the standard of comparison, or 100, 
then the relative amount of moisture can be indicated by percentage. 

Observations have been recorded at comparatively few points, so that 
reliable means are difficult to obtain. The following table gives the 
relative humidity of a few stations during the year 1892 : 







>> 














p 




3 


3 




Stations. 


cS 
E< 
El 
03 


03 

B 

CD 

Em 


p 


3. 


03 


a5 

a 


"3 


ho 

El 
< 




o 
O 


a 

CD 
> 
O 


a 
3 
o 

CD 

o 


CD 




79 


78 


73 


65 


69 


77 


72 


73 


72 


67 


76 


74 


73 




85 


87 


84 


79, 


7?. 


80 


78 


83 


78 


71 


77 


84 


79 




80 

74 


80 
73 


74 
70 


69 
65 


66 
70 


75 
75 


73 
76 


82 
73 


80 

i 74 


72 
68 


76 
70 


70 

74 






72 



Prom 1871 to 1892 the mean relative humidity in Baltimore has been 
as follows : 



1871 to 1892. 


•3 
1-5 


8 

El 


o 

8 




03 


ci 

El 

ES 
>"5 


>-5 


El 
< 


3 

s 

CD 

P. 
CD 
02 


3 
& 
o 
o 

C 


3 3 

s a 

d) 3 
C CD 


3 




70 


65 


64 


61 


65 


68 


68 


70 


'74 ! 68 


70 , 68 


67 6 













The prevailing winds in Maryland are northwest. During the summer 
months they are more from the south, varying from southwest to south- 
east in the eastern and central portions of the State ; while in the winter 
months they are more from the northwest and west. In the mountainous 
regions in Western Maryland the winds are more constantly from the 
northwest and west throughout the year. 

Continuous records have been kept at only a few points sufficiently 
long to establish reliable means. Those obtained at Baltimore during the 
last 22 years are the best. They are given below : 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 39 

MEAN DIRECTION OF WIND AT BALTIMORE DURING- THE PAST 22 YEATtS. 



Month. 


Direction. 


Followed by Bain or Snow. 


Most Likely. Least Likely. 


March 


N. W. 

N. W. 
N. W. 
N. W. 

S. E. 

S. E. 

S. W. 

S. w. 
N. 


N. E. to S. E. 
1ST. E. to S. E. 
S. E. to S. W. 
S. E. to S. W. 
N. E. to S. E. 
S. E. to S. W. 
S. E. to S. W. 
S. E. to S. W. 
E. to S. 


N. to W. 
N. to W. 
N. to W. 
N. to W. 


May 

July 


N. to W. 

N. to W. 
N. W. to N. E. 
N.W.toN. E. 

N. to W. 


December 

Annual Mean 


N. W. 
N. W. 
N. W. 
N. W. 


E. to S. 
N. E. to S. E. 
N. E. to S. E. 


N. to W. 
N. to W. 
N. to W. 



Otlier stations, at which less complete records have been kept, indicate 
the same general conclusion, except that the westerly direction of the 
wind veers more and more to the southerly in passing from the inland 
mountainous region toward the coast. 

Along the shore line of the State during the warmer months there are 
inflowing currents of air, or sea breezes, which moderate the temperature 
of the land for some distance from the coast. They generally blow from 
mid-day till sundown, and are due to the heated atmosphere over the 
land rising and thus causing the cooler air over the water to flow in to 
take its place. 

BAROMETRIC PRESSURE. 

The variations in barometric pressure are not very great in the more 
populous portions of the State. Since none of the larger towns are 
situated at a height of even 1,000 feet above sea level, the variations in the 
mercury column due to' elevation would not, at ordinary temperatures, 
exceed one inch. Even the highest ranges of the western portion of the 
State would show a difference of but little over three inches. In 
recording barometric observations, however, it is customary to make cor- 
rections by reducing the readings to a common datum, which is that of 
sea level. The most important variations in the barometric pressure are 
due to the passage of areas of low pressure, few of which, however, take 
their track directly across the State. Most of them pass to the north of 
the confines of Maryland. Their coming is generally accompanied by 
rainfall ; and are preceded by a rise and followed by a fall in temperature. 
Barometric observations have been taken continuously at only a few points 
in the State, and no important general conclusions can be drawn from the 



40 



MARYLAND. 



records. The mean monthly barometric readings for Baltimore from 
1871 to 1892 are given in the following table: 



















^ 










>> 


8 


A 










■s 


-Q 


,Q 


,a 


x> 


Year. 


=s 






■£ 


>> 




t=-> 


w 


•g 


O 


> 














ci 










o 






>-5 


fe 


% 


<i 


B 


Ha 1-5 


«J 


w 


O 


|Zi 


O ! 




30.06 


30.14 


29.99 


29.98 


29.98 30.00 29.90 


30.00 


30.01 


30.06 


30.10 


30.14 


30.03 



THE MEDICAL CLIMATOLOGY OF MARYLAND. 

It would he inappropriate here to enter upon the general con- 
sideration of the influence exerted by different localities and climates over 
the health of individuals, as this would of itself require a volume. 
Every one has remarked the striking difference which is observable in 
various classes of the community, according to the quality of the air they 
breathe and the nature of their callings. What can be more marked 
than the contrasts in appearance between the inhabitants of a malarious 
country and the inhabitants of a mountainous country ; between those 
who take active exercise in the open air and the pallid countenances and 
deficient muscular energy exhibited by the inhabitants of a metropolis, 
who, during the greater part of the day, inhale the close and vitiated 
atmosphere of work-shops and counting-houses ? 

It is not merely the breathing of a warm or cold air, a dry or damp 
one, which requires to be considered in a remedial point of view, but also 
the action of these states of the atmosphere upon the surface of the 
body, and consequently upon the internal organs. Every medical man is 
aware of the close relation existing between the skin and kidneys, and 
how the functions of these respective organs are influenced or modified 
by external circumstances, such as temperature and climate. In winter, 
or in a cold climate, an increased flow of the renal secretion takes place, 
and there is a corresponding diminution in the amount of insensible if not 
free perspiration ; whereas in summer or in warm climates the reverse 
occurs. "When, therefore, we consider the variableness of the climate, we 
at once perceive a cause for the great prevalence in this country of many 
diseases which resist the action of medicine, but are removed or alleviated 
by change of climate. Anything which lowers the vital powers of the 
system, as dissipation, fatigue, hunger or improper food, renders the body 
more liable to be affected by deleterious external agencies. Anxiety, dis- 
appointment and other depressing moral influences act in the same way, 
and are more frequently instrumental in the production of disease than is 
generally supposed. Hence traveling, change of air and scenery tend 
materially to prevent or counteract the operation of the above-mentioned 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 41 

causes by tlie greater facility and inducement offered for being more out 
of doors. The cheering influence upon the mind of clear skies and sun- 
shine in winter ; the interest excited by scenery of a novel and magnificent 
character, are calculated to divert the mind from unpleasant or gloomy 
ideas, and thereby aid in the removal of many diseases, such as are 
induced by or connected with circumstances of a mental nature. 

A fair prospect and a pure atmosphere are the points of importance, — 
"qualis aer talis spiritus; et cujusmodi spiritus Jiumores" — the former 
regales the mind, the latter refreshes the body. Plato recommended that 
no traveller should lodge in a place that is not governed by proper sani- 
tary laws. Neither the traveller nor the invalid will always meet in this 
country with the sanitary regulations which are most conducive to health ; 
but he may, at all events, find the spirit if not the letter of the sage's 
advice bj adopting a residence in selected localities of the State of Mary- 
land. In the high lands he may realize a delightful summer climate ; in 
the low lands a healthful winter home. 

The natural divisions of the State, which we shall consider seriatim, 
are as below : Western Maryland, which extends from the Susquehanna 
river to the top of the Alleghany Mountains ; Southern Maryland, which 
lies between the Chesapeake bay and the Potomac river ; the Eastern 
Shore, which embraces all that part of the State east of the Susquehanna 
river and the bay. No other State in the Union, perhaps, presents such 
facilities for change of climate within its own borders. The alternations 
from the mountain top to the sea shore, and vice versa, are so various and 
complete as to awaken, with each change, new sensations of health and 
pleasure, and to "purge all infections from our air." 

We know that temperature is diminished by elevation ; but we know 
also that the relation which these forces bear to each other is not a fixed 
quantity. Thus it requires an elevation of 330 feet in the torrid zone to 
effect a decrease in temperature equal to 1° of Fahrenheit's scale,whereas, in 
this latitude an elevation of 250 feet exerts the same influence. On this 
basis, allowing for the fact that the thermometer, after the first part of 
the ascent, records a marked diminution of temperature for very small 
increments of elevation, we may safely assert that there is a difference of 
fully 15° in the mean winter temperature of Ocean City, in Worcester 
county, and Oakland, in Garrett county. This difference, however, does 
not obtain in regard to the mean summer temperature of these respective 
localities, for the reason that maritime climates are usually free from 
excessive changes of temperature. The seasons near the seashore are not 
marked by sudden vicissitudes ; but are, on the contrary, slow in their 
successions, while their temperature is never free from moisture. 



42 MARYLAND. 

WESTERN MARYLAND. 

A brief sketch of the cliinatological peculiarities of Western Mary- 
land will serve to supply a desideratum to the pleasure-seeker, as well as 
the valetudinarian in search of a cool and invigorating summer residence. 
The leading characteristic of this section of the State, apart from its 
exhilarating atmosphere, is the magnificent scenery. Regarded from 
many outlooks, this feature is well-nigh immeasurable. Its rivers and 
rivulets, as well as its mountains and valleys, are of the most imposing 
order. Its climate, diverse as it must necessarily be, is marked by 
extremes of temperature, the whiter season being exceedingly cold, and 
that of summer correspondingly hot at midday, but refreshingly cool in 
the evening and early morning. 

In the lower or eastern comities of this section of the State, the 
climate, although very diverse, is much milder than that of the Alle- 
ghanies. The winters are less severe and the summers are quite cool, the 
heat being alleviated by refreshing breezes, which cross, in their course, 
the waters of Chesapeake bay, from which they abstract a good deal of 
moisture, and mitigate both the heat of summer and the rigors of winter. 

The early frosts, which occasionally do so much damage, are here com- 
paratively harmless. The snow, likewise, disappears much sooner in the 
spring, and the average depth is considerably less than in the counties 
further west. But the charm of this particular section, nestling in the 
foot-hills of the Blue Ridge mountain, consists in its genial summer and 
autumn climate, and its proximity to the metropolis of the State, which 
renders it invaluable, as a convenient and healthful resort, for the over- 
worked denizens of the city. 

The class of patients to whom the climate of Western Maryland may 
be recommended, are those chiefly to whose sluggish vital energies an 
invigorating atmosphere would be likely to yield an impulse ; in whom 
the blood-making powers are deficient, and whose physical systems have 
been reduced, either by actual disease or the wear and tear of prolonged 
work. 

SOUTHERN MARYLAND. 

The climate of Southern Maryland is mild, equable and moist. It is 
protected, in a measure, from the evil effects of high winds by the rising 
ground to the north and west. The general condition of the atmosphere, 
together with the natural arrangement of the surface of the ground, 
affords abundant opportunity for out-door exercise. In a therapeutic 
point of view, the climate in the winter season is sedative, without being 
absolutely relaxing ; while, in the hot months, its excellent facilities for 
bathing will prove decidedly refreshing to visitors coming from warmer 
inland places. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 43 

As a matter of course, patients requiring a bracing climate, with a 
dry atmosphere, should not be sent to Southern Maryland. Invalids of a 
low nervous type, suffering from atonic dyspepsia, as well as persons of a 
scrofulous, or otherwise debilitated constitution, should avoid the locality. 
In affections of the mucous membrane lining the air passages, characterised 
by lack of secretion, this climate may be recommended; but in other 
varieties of bronchial trouble, where there is copious secretion and a 
general relaxation of the system, it should be avoided. In advanced cases 
of pulmonary consumption, and, indeed, in cases which have passed the 
threshold of the disease, Southern Maryland would not be a desirable 
residence. In a good many cases of chronic bronchitis, simulating 
phthisis, improvement to health may be expected, and, in some, complete 
restoration from a state of great debility and seeming danger, has been 
noticed. 

Southern Maryland is remarkably exempt from typhoid fever and 
diphtheria, as compared with the western counties of the State. Malaria, 
at one time so prevalent, is of much less frequent occurrence than 
formerly, and will possibly be still further eradicated when improved 
water supplies and drainage have been introduced. In many places the 
rising grounds are clothed with plantations of pine and cedar. These 
pine woods give a peculiar character to certain localities, as at Pine 
Point, a well-known bathing shore on the Potomac river. When south 
and southwest winds are very gentle the sky is often clear for many days 
together during the winter. On these occasions the warmth and softness 
of the air are truly delightful ; and, when taken in conjunction with the 
beautiful water scenery, the calm blue bay, the broad Potomac, the green 
meadows, the balsamic pine and other evergreens common to this section, 
one is almost tempted to forget that it is a winter landscape he is con- 
templating. 

THE EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND. 

This peninsula has been recommended for several years as a valuable 
resort for invalids afflicted with pulmonary consumption and other 
affections of the lungs. Its reputation in this respect has extended widely 
and rapidly, and the "Shore" has become, in addition to being a tempo- 
rary resort of those who seek to avoid a cold winter and spring elsewhere, 
the permanent habitation of others who have taken up their abode in the 
villas and villages which adorn the gently undulating surface of the 
country. The Eastern Shore has a peculiar climate within a general 
climate. The latter, that is to say the climate on the southern coast, is 
mild, equable and humid ; the former, that of the inland and bay coun- 
ties, while partaking of the general characteristics of the southern coast, 
is less marked in its general features, and is especially less moist, and in 
some respects more healthful. 



44 MARYLAND. 

As a winter resort for invalids of a phthisical tendency, the Eastern 
Shore is undoubtedly possessed of peculiar advantages, provided the change 
to it he made at a sufficiently early stage of the disorder, and that the 
invalid he content to submit to a proper course of hygienic discipline. 
An invalid who is recovering from an attack of inflammation of the 
lungs, or from severe pleurisy, without tubercle, could not select a better 
winter resort ; and in the sensitive condition of the respiratory organs 
which is left by an attack of bronchitis, or in a case of chronic bronchitis, 
this climate will be found to be remarkably serviceable. An asthmatic 
invalid, meaning by this a person affected with the pure spasmodic form, 
is either exactly suited by the climate, or not suited at all. The trial is 
the only test. 

In most of the forms of heart-trouble a residence on the Eastern 
Shore is conducive to comfort, and the avoidance of those mischances to 
which the patient thus afflicted is peculiarly liable. In some instances, 
however, it proves unsuitable. The distinction should not be difficult to 
make beforehand. When the patient suffers from over-impulse of the 
heart, difficulty in breathing on slight exertion, with a sense of obstructive 
oppression in the chest, particularly if the complexion be florid and the 
skin hard and dry, the climate of this section will agree well. But when 
the patient is pallid and flabby, frequently faintish and always feeble, 
the skin soft, cool and often moist, with cool perspiration ; when, in 
short, the heart is constantly too weak, without any active irritation in 
the lungs, and with a low state of the general vital power, as a rule, this 
climate will not agree. 

In chronic affections of the digestive mucous membrane, the Eastern 
Shore proves either exceedingly beneficial, or quite the reverse, according 
to the nature of the case. Neuralgia, when it depends on chronic irrita- 
tion of some mucous or muscular surface, is benefited by a residence 
here. When, on the other hand, it is the relic of a former malarial 
agency, this climate may awaken the old susceptibility of the faulty 
nerve. Pure rheumatism, whether acute or chronic, is often benefited. 
Uncomplicated affections of the liver, affections far more rare than is 
generally supposed, are not suited by this climate ; but there are certain 
forms of functional derangement of the liver for which a residence here 
proves very advantageous. 

DISEASES INFLUENCED BY CLIMATE. 

In a study of the diseases for which change of climate is advisable, 
it is only with chronic maladies, or with the sequela? of acute disorders, 
such as typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever, dysentery, &c, that we 
have to deal ; for in such cases only can change of climate be resorted to 
as a medium of cure. Certainly there are cases in which change of air is 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 45 

prophylactic to disease, as in cholera, yellow fever, and maladies of that 
class, hut as such diseases are epidemic and not endemic in this State 
their discussion is foreign to the present article. 

The diseases in which the various climates of Maryland are both 
beneficial and curative may be classed as follows : Chlorosis, antemia 
general debility, nervous affections, asthma, bronchial and laryngeal 
affections, affections of the urinary and uterine organs, cutaneous diseases 
dyspepsia, with its varied complications, hypochondriasis, diseases of the 
liver and kidneys, rheumatism, malaria, and the world's terrible scouro-e 
consumption, or tuberculous deposit in the lungs, from which, in this 
country alone, more than 100,000 human beings annually die. Let us 
now make a resume of the above diseases. 

Chlorosis and Ancemia are nearly allied, and are characterized by the 
same vitiated state of the blood — a state generally produced by insuffi- 
cient or improper food, bad ventilation, want of exercise, or, on the part 
of females, some disorder of the menstruation. In all cases of this class 
nothing equals change of air ; from the mountains to the low lands or 
from the low lands to the mountains, as the case may be. 

In case of General Debility or Nervous Affections, we have the 
authority of Dr. Harvey for saying that, though in most cases of nervous 
disease certain special remedial agents may be necessary, still, beyond 
every thing else, change of air and change of scenery, accompanied as 
they must be with changed thought and altered nervous action, will be 
found the true remedial agents. Such cases will be well suited by the 
climate of Western Maryland. 

In Asthma, change of air is generally followed by the most marked 
benefit; frequently the removal of a mile or two produces very con- 
siderable relief. Most of the cases of asthma need to be judged by their 
peculiar characteristics, as a great deal depends upon temperament ; and 
where one case improves under a dry and elastic climate, in another all 
the symptoms are aggravated thereby. In most of these cases the 
patient finds out for himself what suits him best. In Maryland he can 
be suited with almost every variety and character of climate that could 
be desired in such cases — the mild and moist air of the seashore, the 
elastic, dry air of the mountain, the modified urban air, and the medium 
suburban air. 

Bronchial Throat Affections are amongst the most benefited by 
change of air, but it is only in their chronic forms that this curative 
agent will be of benefit. In cases of bronchial affection, with low 
muscular power and considerable cough, we can recommend the moder- 
ately elevated districts ; but when the temperament is nervous, and more 
humidity is required, the eastern shore is to be preferred. 



46 MARYLAND. 

In disease's of the Uterine and Urinary Organs, it is generally con- 
sidered that climate has more or less influence. In the Diseases of 
Women and girls, such as hysteria, chorea, and affections of the men- 
strual function, change of climate is a great curative agent. In certain 
cases where the catamenia are delayed beyond the ordinary time, removal 
to the eastern shore will be attended, in most cases, with marked benefit. 

Dyspepsia. There is no disorder in which change of air and scenery, 
joined with cheerful company and moderate excitement, exerts a more 
beneficial influence than in the various forms of dyspepsia, arising, as 
these cases generally do, from want of exercise, close confinement, anxiety, 
care, or inattention to the general laws of health. A change of air, how- 
ever slight, if only combined with change of habit, food and water, 
must be beneficial. In such cases it matters but little what the change 
may be, so long as there is a change. The mountain resorts are to be 
preferred during the summer months, and the Eastern Shore at all other 
times. Dyspeptic patients visiting or residing in Maryland need not, in 
general, be limited to one place. Although, as advised by Sir James 
Clark, the climate most suited to their complaint should be selected as 
their headquarters, they may visit, at any time, the principal cities and 
resorts in the State ; and if this is done with judgment, the successive 
changes will prove beneficial to their health. Hypochondriasis is closely 
allied with, and dependent upon, dyspepsia, and the indications here are 
change from place to place, society, mental endeavor to conquer real or 
imaginary trouble, exercise, regular habits, early hours, bathing and 
cleanliness. 

Pulmonary Consumption. This disease, above all others, is the one 
for which change of climate is continually sought. So much has been 
written and said of this disease that to go further than call attention to 
its etiology and prophylaxis would be superfluous. Riverius made the 
observation as long ago as 1668 that "contagion is the chief est cause of 
consumption," but no general acceptance of this theory ever obtained 
until very recently. Of the hereditary transmission of the disease there 
can be no doubt, but heredity does not account for a majority of the 
cases. Improper food, imperfect ventilation, the introduction of foreign 
and extraneous substances, such as irritating particles of dust, into the 
cells of the lungs, are often factors in the causation of the disease. 
Taking the nature and causes of the disease into consideration, it is quite 
evident that in no class of disease is change of climate of less value than 
in this. What we really want is improved vital power, good food and pure 
air. If softening has not taken place, then change of climate may be 
beneficial. Where shall the patient be sent ? is the important question. 
With the exception of the Himalaya Mountains, in India, and the Kirghis 
Steppe, of Asia, which is an area of land below the level of the sea, no 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 47 

place in the world enjoys such complete immunity from pulmonary con- 
sumption as the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and by timely seeking this 
healing climate many persons may he permanently cured or greatly 
relieved. As a winter resort, or as an all-the-year-round home for 
invalids, few localities can offer greater attractions. 

Malaria. Removal from the malarious district is important if not 
absolutely essential to the recovery of suffering from this protean 
malady. The disease is not confined to any particular locality or climate. 
It extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, from the St. Lawrence 
river to the Gulf of Mexico. The question of the relative healthfulness 
of different sections of Maryland, as regards malaria, cannot he accurately 
determined, inasmuch as we have no system for the collection of vital 
and mortuary statistics ; hut personal observation and inquiry, combined 
with data collected from physicians and local health authorities all over 
the State, would seem to indicate that, whatever the condition of the 
Eastern Shore may have been in former years, when malaria is reputed 
to have engulfed all of human kind that toiled upon its surface, it is, at 
this time, remarkably exempt from diseases of all kinds, and especially 
malaria. This exemption is owing, no doubt, in a great measure, to the 
drying of the soil by drainage and cultivation, to the growth of large 
fields of clover, which exhale peroxide of hydrogen, to the destruction 
of mill-dams ; but above all to improved water supplies in many districts. 
Wells have been bored very generally, from 300 to 500 feet deep, from 
which excellent water is procured, and by using it the health of the inhab- 
itants has greatly improved, which would seem to indicate that the subsoil 
water formerly used for drinking purposes had a great deal to do with 
the causation of malaria in that section of the State. 

WATER SUPPLY. 

Most of the larger cities and towns of the State are supplied with 
public water systems, in some instances constructed at private, in others 
at municipal, expense. Where water works have not been built the 
supply is obtained from shallow or driven wells and from springs. 

Annapolis. The Annapolis water works were built by a stock 
company, in 1865-66. The supply is obtained from a stream about four 
miles distant from the town, and is pumped into two receiving reser- 
voirs, with a capacity of 9,000,000 gallons. The water reaches the 
different parts of the city by gravity, through cast-iron mains, aggregat- 
ing about nine miles in length. The capital stock has a par value of 
$61,450. In 1879 the company issued $35,000 of bonds for the cost of 
laying new pipe. All but $8,000 of these bonds have been redeemed. 

Baltimore. The water supply of Baltimore, built at municipal 
expense, is one of the largest and in many respects one of the finest in 



48 MARYLAND. . 

the country. It is constructed on the gravity system combined with 
pumping to the distributing reservoirs. The supply is obtained from 
two streams which flow down the eastern slope of the Piedmont Plateau, 
viz : — the Jones' Falls and the Gunpowder River. Dams have been built 
across the streams, forming in the first instance, Lake Roland, 225 feet 
above tide, and in the second, Loch Raven, 170 feet above tide. Lake 
Roland covers 116 acres, and has an estimated capacity of 400,000,000 
gallons. Loch Raven covers 252 acres, and has an estimated capacity of 
510,000,000 gallons. The two systems of Jones' Falls and Gunpowder 
River are capable of furnishing daily a supply of about 165,000,000 
gallons of water. 

The Lake Roland supply is carried to the Hampden Reservoir, 217 
feet above tide water, with a capacity of 46,000,000 gallons, to the Druid 
Lake, in Druid Hill Park, of an equal elevation, with a capacity of 
493,000,000 gallons, to the High Service Reservoir, with a capacity of 
26,000,000 gallons, and to the Mount Royal Reservoir, with a capacity of 
30,000,000 gallons. 

The Loch Raven supply is carried to Lake Montebello, with a 
capacity of 510,000,000 gallons, thence to Glifton Lake, with a capacity 
of 265,000,000 gallons, and to Guilford Reservoir, of 41,000,000. The 
aggregate storage capacity is, therefore, including the conduits, 
2,346,000,000 gallons. 

The Lake Roland Conduit is 3.8 miles in length, and is built in oval 
form, of stone and brick masonry. It is 6J feet high and 5 feet wide. 

The Loch Raven Conduit to Lake Montebello, is 517 feet less than 
7 miles in length, and is built in circular form, 12 feet in diameter, for 2 
miles arched with brick, and for 5 miles hewn in the solid rock. 

The distributing pipes run for over 300 miles beneath the streets of 
the city. 

The cost of the entire system has been estimated at about $10,000,000. 

CatonsviUe. The water-works at Catonsville were built by a joint 
stock company in 1886-87. The supply is obtained from artesian wells 
and the Patapsco River. The water is pumped to a stand pipe of 185,000 
gallons capacity. The daily capacity of the works is estimated at 500,000 
gallons. The length of the mains is about 8 miles. 

Centreville. The Centreville water-works were built in 1889. The 
source of the water is a small stream near the town. The system of 
water supply is that of gravity, combined with pumping. The cost of 
the works was about $10,000. 

Chestertown. The works were built in 1885 by a joint stock com- 
pany. The supply is obtained from springs which flow into a receiving 
reservoir from which the water is pumped into a distributing reservoir, 
the capacity of the latter being about 240,000 gallons. From this reser- 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 49 

voir the water is distributed by gravity through the mains, which 
aggregate about 4 miles in length. The daily consumption is estimated 
at about 50,000 gallons. The cost of construction of the works was 
$25,000. 

Cumberland. The Cumberland water-works were built by the city 
in 1870-71, and enlarged in 1873. The supply of water is obtained from 
the Potomac river by direct pumping. The estimated daily capacity is 
about 2,000,000 gallons. The water is distributed by mains varying 
from 12 to 3 inches in diameter. They extend for nearly 30 miles 
through the streets of the city. The construction of the works cost 
$150,000. 

Easton. The Easton water works were built by a joint stock com- 
pany in 1886. The supply is obtained from six artesian wells 4 inches 
in diameter and 110 feet in depth. The water is pumped into a stand- 
pipe 12 feet in diameter and 100 feet in height. There is also a reservoir, 
holding 136,000 gallons, which receives its supply from a source inde- 
pendent of the artesian wells. The water of the reservoir is reserved 
for extinguishing fires. The distribution of the water throughout 
the town is accomplished by means of iron pipes 8 inches, 6 inches 
and 4 inches in diameter. They run beneath the streets for a distance of 
6J miles. There are also 40 fire plugs. The capital stock of the com- 
pany is valued at $40,000. 

Frederick City. The Frederick water works were built by the 
corporation by bonded debt. The supply is carried from artesian wells, 
springs and a mountain stream — the Tuscarora — by natural gravity, to a 
receiving reservoir, which is situated about one mile from the town. 
The capacity of the reservoir is about 2,000,000 gallons. The water is 
distributed to the town by gravity, through cast-iron pipes. 

Frostburg. The Frostburg water-works were built by a joint stock 
company. The supply is obtained from springs and artesian wells. 
From the receiving reservoir the water is distributed to the town in 
pipes 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The length of the mains is about 4 
miles. The daily consumption is estimated at about 40,000 gallons. 

Hagerstown. The supply of water is obtained from Beaver Creek, 
eight miles from the town, and from artesian wells. The water is 
carried by gravity to a receiving reservoir with a capacity of 20,000,000 
gallons. From the latter it is distributed through 18 miles of mains to 
the different parts of the city. The daily consumption is estimated at 
500,000 gallons. The cost of the works was $150,000. 

Havre de Grace. The Havre de Grace plant was constructed at 
private expense. The water is pumped directly from the Susquehanna 
river into the mains and reservoir, which has a capacity of about 
3,000,000 gallons. The daily capacity of the pumps is estimated at 



50 MARYLAND. 

268,000 gallons. The water is distributed throughout the town by mains 
4 and 6 inches in diameter. The capital stock of the company is valued 
at $15,000, and it has a bonded indebtedness of $15,000. 

Mec7ianicstown. The Mechanicstown water- works were built by a 
joint stock company. The supply is obtained from mountain streams 
and conducted by gravity to the receiving .reservoir, which has a capacity 
of 50,000 gallons From the reservoir the water is distributed to the 
town through 2| miles of mains. The cost of construction of the works 
was $10,000. 

Salisbury. The Salisbury water works were constructed at private 
expense. The supply is obtained by pumping from 15 driven wells, in 
which the water rises to within 3 feet of the surface. In addition to 
these, there is a flowing artesian well. The water is pumped directly 
into the mains, or to a stand pipe 12 feet in diameter and 100 feet high, 
which has a capacity of 84,000 gallons. The works cost about $30,000. 

Union Bridge. The Union Bridge water works were built by a 
stock company in 1886-87. The supply is obtained from springs to the 
east of the town, the water being pumped to a receiving reservoir with a 
capacity of 425,000 gallons. The daily capacity of these pumps is 
250,000 gallons. The distributing mains are composed of 4, 6 and 8-inch 
iron pipe, and aggregate about 2J miles in length. The daily consump- 
tion is about 40,000 gallons. The works cost $18,000. 

Westminster. The Westminster water works were built in 1883 by 
a stock company. The supply is obtained from 3 springs one mile to 
the southeast of the town, the water being conducted by gravity into a 
collecting reservoir of 500,000 gallons capacity. From this point it is 
pumped into a distributing reservoir 180 feet above the lowest portions 
of the town, and three-quarters of a mile to the east of the same. The 
latter reservoir has a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons. The daily capacity 
of the pumps is 118,000 gallons. The water mains consist of cast-iron 
pipe 4 to 8 inches in diameter, and with a length of about five miles. 
The consumption is about 15,000 gallons daily. The construction of the 
works cost $25,000. 

Water works have also been projected in Towson, Cambridge and 
Upper Marlboro. 

WATER POWER. 

Much valuable water power is available in the State of Maryland, 
but only a small part of it has been utilized down to the present time. 
Some of the most valuable powers are situated at a distance from rail- 
road or water communications, so that no attempt has been made to use 
them while the readily-accessible localities have not been developed to 
their full capacity. 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 51 

According to the tenth census report, Maryland held the 20th place 
among the States in the total amount of water power employed, and 
12th in the amount used per square mile. The total water power utilized 
in 1880, when the last estimates were made, was equal to 18,043 horse- 
power, a little less than had been employed 10 years earlier, in 1870, 
while the amount of steam power had nearly trebled in the same period. 

Very detailed investigations of the water power of Maryland were 
conducted in connection with the tenth census, and as much of the data 
is of such a character as to be of lasting value, extensive use will be 
made of it. The results recorded will, in many instances, be incorporated 
in the present statement. The water power of Maryland will be con- 
sidered under the three topographic divisions hitherto explained : — 
1. The Coastal Plain. 2. The Piedmont Plateau. 3. The Appalachian 
Kegion. 

The Coastal Plain. The streams of the Coastal Plain do not afford, 
at any point, great power on account of their sluggish, uniform currents. 
With the exception of the Potomac and the Susquehanna, which are 
tidal to the east of the "fall-line." there are no large rivers. The smaller 
streams, however, afford sufficient power to drive numerous grist and 
saw mills, which are scattered throughout the eastern and southern 
counties. In a few instances larger works have been established, but 
the country is essentially an agricultural not a manufacturing region. 

The Piedmont Plateau. The best water-power of the State is found 
in the region of the Piedmont Plateau. The Potomac and Susquehanna 
Rivers here flow with rapid currents, and with their greatest volume 
before becoming tidal, while less variability is manifested than in their 
upper courses. The smaller streams, too, have wider drainage basins, 
and are less subject to sudden changes. 

The Potomac River, in crossing the Piedmont Plateau, falls 230 feet, 
which is its height at Point of Rocks, to tide at Georgetown. The distance 
is 47 miles, so that the average fall per mile is about 5 inches. There are 
several points at which the fall is much greater, viz.: at Great Falls, 14 
miles above Georgetown, where, in the distance of \\ miles, the river 
descends 80 to 90 feet. This would make the average fall, for the 
remainder of the distance, less than 3 inches in the mile. 

Ascending the river, the first available power is five miles above 
Georgetown, at Little Falls, where a dam (No. 1) has been constructed 
for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, formerly an important water-way 
across the State. The estimated power here in the low season of dry years 
is about 2,600 horse-power. It has been employed to some extent at 
Georgetown. 

The next site above is at Great Falls, fourteen miles above George- 
town. The water here pours over a rocky channel, and the facilities for 



52 MARYLAND. 

building are ample on either bank. In the principal fall there is a 
descent of 35 or 40 feet in 100 to 150 yards, which is increased to 80 or 90 
feet in a mile and a-half. The drainage area above the Great Falls 
is estimated at 11,476 square miles, and the available power in a low 
season is estimated at 20,700 horse-power, which is wholly unemployed 
at the present time. The water supply for the cities of Washington and 
Georgetown is taken from above the falls. 

The next site is just below the mouth of Seneca Creek, about seven 
miles farther up the river, where another dam (No. 2) has been 
constructed for the canal. 

From this latter site to Point of Rocks the river has no pronounced 
fall. The current is moderately rapid, but no dams have been con- 
structed. 

The only tributary of importance entering the Potomac from the 
north throughout this distance is the Monocacy River, which rises to the 
north of the northern boundary of Maryland and drains an area of 
somewhat over 1,000 square miles. The stream takes its course through 
a broad, low valley, and is as a rule sluggish. Its flow, although not so 
variable as the tributaries of the Potomac in the Appalachian Region, is 
still liable to considerable fluctuation, and freshets of some violence at 
times occur. Several grist and saw-mills have been built along the 
main stream and its tributaries. 

The first stream north of the Potomac which is worthy of special 
mention is the Patuxent River, which west of the " fall-line " drains an 
area of about 200 square miles. The stream has a variable, and in dry 
seasons, a very small flow. Several sites have been improved and a few 
factories and mills built. 

The next stream of importance above the Patuxent is the Patapsco, 
which west of the "fall-line" drains an area of about 300 square miles. It 
is the most important manufacturing stream in the State, and over 3,000 
horse-power is utilized. No other stream in the State, with the excep- 
tion of the Potomac, offers so many advantages or so many sites for 
power. 

Two tributaries of the Patapsco which enter that stream on the 
northern side, below the " fall-line," viz., Gwynn's Falls and Jones' Falls, 
have been employed to a limited extent. Since Jones' Falls has been 
used by the City of Baltimore as a part of its public water supply, the 
mills that formerly utilized the power of the stream have been aban- 
doned, or steam has been substituted. 

The only other stream of importance before reaching the Susque- 
hanna is the Gunpowder River, which divides, a short distance from its 
mouth, into Big and Little Gunpowder Creeks. The former drains an 
area of about 275 square miles, but the lower part of the stream is not 



PHYSICAL FEATURES. 53 

available for power, as one of the reservoirs to supply the City of Balti- 
more has been located upon it, and all the water rights below have 
been purchased by the city. Above the reservoir, considerable power 
has been utilized in the past, several small grist, saw, paper, woolen and 
other mills having been established. Upon the Little Gunpowder Creek, 
small powers have been improved, but the stream is not large. 

The Susquehanna River flows 12 miles in Maryland from the State 
line to its mouth, during which distance it descends 69 feet, or an 
average of 5.75 feet per mile. There are few valuable sites, however. 
A canal which was built some years ago from Peach Bottom to Port 
Deposit, both for transportation and water-power, afforded several sites 
which were for a time utilized. The available horse-power produced at 
Port Deposit in a total fall of 80 feet in the canal was estimated in 1880 
to be 94,000 horse-power in the low season of dry years. 

To the east of the Susquehanna are several small streams on which 
the water powers have been utilized to some extent. Among the more 
important are Principio, Northeast and Big Elk Creeks. Several small 
cotton, woolen, grist, saw and paper mills have been established. 

The Appalachian Region. With the exception of western Garrett 
County, all the drainage of the Appalachian Region reaches the Potomac 
River. Ascending that stream, from Point of Rocks, the first important 
site is at Weverton, 57 miles from Georgetown, at the point where the 
river finds its passage through the Blue Ridge Mountains. The power 
available here, in the low season of dry years, is estimated to be 5,100 
horse-power. 

A few miles further up the Potomac, at Harper's Ferry, just above 
the point where that stream is joined by the Shenandoah, there is, prob- 
ably, the most favorable site on the river. The facilities for transporta- 
tion are excellent, building materials are abundant, and there seems no 
reason why a large and fine power could not be utilized here. The 
power is estimated, in the low season of dry years, to be 2,900 horse- 
power. At this point is situated a dam (No. 3), connected with the 
canal. The fall, from the dam to the mouth of the Shenandoah, is 
about 22 feet. 

About 8 miles above Harper's Ferry the Potomac receives the 
Antietam River from the north. It drains a rolling and fertile 
country of about 340 square miles, but its declivity is uniform and 
uninterrupted by falls and rapids. The stream is utilized, to a con- 
siderable extent, together with its tributaries, to run grist, flour and 
paper-mills. The flow of the stream is very variable, however. 

Between the mouth of the Antietam River and Williamsport there 
are two sites upon the Potomac, one a mile below Shepardstown, which 



54 MARYLAND. 

has an estimated power, in the low season of dry years, of 920 horse- 
power, and a second, some 10 to 15 miles above, of 1,725 horse-power. 

The Conococheague River, which joins the Potomac near Williams- 
port, drains an area of about 500 square miles. It resembles the 
Antietam, on the eastern side of the Great Valley, in all essential 
respects, and, like it, is utilized for grist and paper mills, none of which 
are very large. 

There are several good sites on the Potomac between Williamsport 
and the junction of the north and south branches of that stream, but 
practically no attempt has been made to improve them. No tributaries 
of importance enter the Potomac from the north throughout this distance. 

The north fork, which, throughout much of its course, forms the 
present dividing line between Maryland and West Virginia, di-ains an area 
of about 1,300 square miles. The flow of the stream, however is very 
variable, and at Cumberland its maximum discharge is over 700 times 
its minimum, which is nearly fatal to the extensive use of water power. 
This great variability is explained by the absence of lakes, the steepness 
of the mountain slopes and the narrowness of the valleys. Some of the 
tributaries of the north fork partake of its general characteristics, while 
others are said to be quite constant in flow ; but on the whole their power 
is of little importance. 

Most of western Garrett county drains to the northward by the 
Youghiogheny River into the Monongahela. The flow of the streams is 
for the most part variable, and very little attempt has been made to 
utilize the power. 

With some striking exceptions which have been noted in the pre- 
ceding sketch, the greater portion of the developed water power of the 
State is found in the Piedmont Plateau. The Potomac has some excel- 
lent sites in the eastern portion of the Appalachian Region, but farther 
to the west they become unimportant. 

Altogether there is a vast amount of undeveloped water power in 
the State, and in many instances the sites are most favorably located. 



CHAPTER III. 



GEOLOGY. 



It is the object of this and the following chapter to present a general 
description of the Geology of Maryland, together with an account of the 
distribution, development and possibilities of such mineral resources as exist 
within her boundaries. To accomplish this purpose the origin, character and 
succession of the various rock formations will first be passed in review. 
This will be illustrated by a colored geological map and section, showing 
the areal extent, and relative position of each deposit. In the next chapter 
the distribution of substances of economic value will then be traced 
through the different geological horizons, and this will be succeeded by 
an account of the industries which have originated through the develop- 
ment of minerals occurring within the State. In some cases such industries 
still depend mainly upon raw material obtained in Maryland, while in 
others, like iron, copper and chrome, the industries remain active in the 
State, although the local supply of material is now practically exhausted. 
In this portion of the work much assistance has been rendered by several 
gentlemen whose long experience and expert knowledge of the subjects 
treated, render their contributions of lasting value. 

GENERAL REVIEW OP GEOLOGY. 

The State of Maryland is so situated as to display, in spite of its com- 
paratively small size (less than 10,000 square miles), a remarkably perfect 
sequence of all the geological formations. The most ancient rocks 
which go to make up the earth's crust, as well as those still in the process 
of deposition, are here to be found, while between these wide limits there is 
hardly an important geological epoch which is not represented. It is 
doubtful whether another State of the Union contains a fuller history of 
the earth's past. 

To make the completeness of this record in Maryland somewhat more 
intelligible, let us consider for a moment the basis on which geologists are 
able to determine the succession of deposits. As our globe slowly cooled 
from a state of igneous fusion the first rocks must have been formed by 
the solidification at the surface of the molten mass, while as yet the 
oceans and many other of the more volatile substances existed in the dense 



56 MARYLAND. 

cloudy atmosphere. Whether or not any portion of this first cooling crust 
now remains where it is accessible to man, is a matter of doubt. True it 
is, however, that ages must have elapsed before the crust had so far cooled 
as to allow the concentration of the oceans upon it ; and ages more must 
have passed before this hot and chemically surcharged ocean had so far 
cooled and purified itself as to allow of the development of life within it. 
We get a still further conception of the vast lapses of time which these 
early rocks imply when we discover that, even after the waters had 
become suited for living things, a great proportion of the development 
and differentiation of organic types went on in beings which have left no 
trace. Hardly a more remarkable fact confronts us in geology than the 
variety and complexity of types in the earliest rocks which contain any 
trace of life at all. This fact, which is all the more remarkable for being 
attested by the best of evidence from all parts of the earth's surface, com- 
pels us to assign to the history of life before its first permanent record was 
deposited, a longer period than all that has since elapsed. These earliest 
forms were either too small and soft to allow of preservation, or else they 
have been obliterated in the subsequent alteration of the rocks containing 
them. 

All the rocks which are older than the earliest fossil-bearing strata 
are referred to the first great division of geologic history, called Archaean 
Time. 

When, however, life does once appear, it is, with all its variety, well- 
nigh the same in all the older rocks. In the most widely separated locali- 
ties the same types recur in rocks of the same age, and this it is that fur- 
nishes us with the key to the succession of deposits. From the time when 
the oldest fossil-bearing stratum was deposited until now, the story of 
life-progress and development is told by rocks with enough clearness not 
to be misunderstood. Local differences of condition have probably always 
prevailed, as they do now, but the same types of organisms have always 
lived at the same time over the entire globe, so that their remains serve as 
sufficient criteria for the correlation of the strata which contain them. 
The sequence of life-forms, once made out, gives us, for the whole earth, 
the means of fixing the order of deposits, even when this is most pro- 
foundly disarranged by foldings of the strata in mountains, or by other 
earth movements. 

Geologists distinguish three principal divisions in the history of life, 
as read in the record of the rocks. During the earliest of these great 
time-divisions archaic forms of life flourished — uncouth fishes, mollusks, 
crustaceans and tree-ferns — very unlike those now extant. On this 
account this is known as the period of most ancient life, or the 
Paleozoic Time. To this succeeded a vast lapse of ages, when enormous 
reptiles predominated, associated with other life-types more like those 



GEOLOGY. 57 

which now inhabit the globe. To this division is given the name of 
middle life, or Mesozoic Time. Finally, living things began to assume 
the form and appearance with which we are familiar ; so that this last 
grand time-division, which includes the present, is designated as the 
period of recent life, or Cenozoic Time. 

Each of these three grand divisions of geologic time is, in its turn, 
subdivided into shorter periods, called ages, each characterized by its 
own peculiar types of life. And the different ages are themselves 
separated into periods and epochs, which vary more or less in character 
according to the regions where they are developed. Hence each of these 
periods and epochs is usually designated by a local name. 

In Maryland we have not merely representations of all the great 
time-divisions of geology, but of each of the subordinate ages as well ; 
while many of the best characterized periods and epochs may also be 
distinguished. This may be best appreciated by referring to the accom- 
panying geological map (in pocket at end of the volume). An examina- 
tion of the legend of this map shows that there are distinguished eight 
pre-Paleozoic, thirteen Paleozoic and eight post-Paleozoic formations. 
The number of separate horizons is in reality much greater than this, as 
will be shown in the succeeding descriptions; but upon a map of this 
scale (eight miles to the inch), it has been necessary to unite the less 
important or less developed formations with those which cover considera- 
ble areas or which show very marked lithological differences. 

As has been pointed out in the topographical description of the State 
in the preceding chapter, Maryland's territory falls naturally into three 
sharply contrasted provinces; an eastern Coastal Plain surrounding the 
Chesapeake, a central Plateau and a western region of Mountains. These 
main topographical divisions are capable of further differentiation into 
topographic belts, which also differ in geological composition and structure. 
Thus the Coastal Plain is divisible into a lower eastern, and a higher 
western portion, usually known as the " Eastern Shore " and " Southern 
Maryland." The central plateau is also twofold, being divided into an 
eastern and western slope by its median watershed, known as Parr's Kidge. 
The mountains of Maryland are a narrow strip across the great Appala- 
chian System, which as Whitney has shown, are divisible through their 
whole extent from New York to Alabama into three parallel belts. On 
the east is the Blue Ridge and Great Valley, in the centre the narrow, 
sharply parallel ridges of the Appalachians proper, and on the west the 
broad plateau and gentle folds of the Alleghanies which merge gradually 
into the plains of Ohio. 

These seven subordinate topographical divisions of Maryland are each 
composed of a distinct series of geological formations. This may be 
readily perceived by examining the geological map and section. The dis- 



58 MARYLAND. 

tinction of formations is least pronounced in the two divisions of the 
Coastal Plain, although the NNE-SSW trend of the nearly horizontal beds 
produces a predominance of the mesozoic and early tertiary beds in the 
western, and of the late tertiary in the eastern section. In the Piedmont 
Plateau, as the area between the Coastal Plain and mountains is called, 
the two-fold character of the province, geologically, is very marked. On 
the eastern side of the central water-shed (Parr's Ridge) we have a sequence 
of highly crystalline rocks, in large part igneous in their origin, which 
represent the remains of a vast Archaean continent whose detritus furnished 
most of the materials of which the Paleozoic sediments were made. On 
the western side of the median ridge the rocks are only partly crystalline, 
and represent the greatly folded and metamorphosed beds of early 
Paleozoic time. Along the western edge of this plateau, beyond the 
Monocacy river, is the Frederick Valley, composed of the blue Paleozoic 
limestone (Trenton), in part overlain by the red sandstone of Mesozoic age 
(Newark). The three-fold division of the mountain system corresponds 
approximately to a three-fold division in the sequence of Paleozoic strata. 
The Blue Ridge and great valley are made up of Cambrian and Lower 
Silurian beds, in places so displaced and eroded as to expose the Archaean 
floor in which they rest. The Appalachians proper are made up of sharply 
folded Upper Silurian and Devonian strata, each easily recognized by its 
characteristic life-forms ; while the Alleghany Plateau is mainly composed 
of the more gently folded late Devonian and Carboniferous deposits 
carrying the priceless coal seams of the Cumberland basin. 

Such in brief is the distribution of geological formations and their 
connection with the easily recognized types of surface configuration occur- 
ring within the State. The sequence is of remarkable completeness, and 
of great interest on account of the types of country and of soil which the 
various horizons produce. An attempt will now be made to trace out 
somewhat more in detail the geological history of each of our three great 
provinces — plateau, mountains and coast plain — beginning with the most 
ancient. Those who desire to follow out this history will find a constant 
reference to the geological map of service. 

THE PIEDMONT PLATEAU. 

General Description. For the adequate comprehension of the crys- 
talline rocks occurring within the limits of Maryland, some broader 
knowledge is necessary of the geology of that great Piedmont belt of 
which it is a fragment. A brief general characterization of this province 
must therefore precede the more detailed descriptions of the local geology 
about Baltimore. 

Along the eastern flank of the Appalachian and Green Mountain 
uplifts there is a belt of highly crystalline or semi- crystalline rocks 



GEOLOGY. 59 

which extends from Alabama to Maine, and even farther north. This 
zone attains its maximum width (300 miles or more) in the Carolinas. 
Toward the north it narrows and is nearly buried beneath the Trias in 
New Jersey; beyond New York, however, it suddenly broadens,. so as to 
embrace the larger part of New England. Within this whole province 
the rocks are so crystalline as to make fossils rare, while their structure 
presents some of the most puzzling problems in American geology. Many 
theories have obtained regarding the age and origin of the strata, but it is 
only within very recent years that elaborate and detailed work has begun 
satisfactorily to solve the mystery. In New England the entire sequence 
of Paleozoic sediments is found in more or less completely metamor- 
phosed form, with occasional areas of more ancient crystalline rocks 
(Archaean) protruding through them, while they are cut by a variety of 
eruptive masses. 

South of New York the crystalline belt acquires a more homogeneous 
character, both structurally and topographically, which fact, together with 
its position at the eastern foot of the Appalachian system, has occasioned 
its designation as the Piedmont Plateau. 

Topographically the Piedmont plateau may be considered to begin in 
Maryland* as the eastern base of Catoctin mountain, a sharply defined 
ridge of nearly uniform height (1,500 ft.) extending from Point of Rocks 
on the Potomac, northward to the Pennsylvania line just west of Emmits- 
burg. East of the Catoctin ridge nearly three thousand square miles of 
surface are exposed within the State before the overlap of clays and 
gravels belonging to the formations of the Coastal Plain are encountered. 
Geologically, however, the western boundary of the Piedmont belt in 
Maryland must be drawn considerably farther east, if, as is usual, we wish 
to confine this term to rocks of undetermined age. 

We may roughly outline the Piedmont region proper in Maryland as 
a trapezium, bounded on the north by the State line, on the east by the 
Baltimore and Ohio railroad from Wilmington to Washington, on the 
south by the Potomac, and on the west by the Monocacy river. The 
surface of this area is nearly level, but it slopes very gently from a 
median water-shed, known as Parr's Ridge. The region has been so 
recently elevated that its streams are still excavating narrow precipitous 
channels. 

The rocks composing the Maryland portion of the Piedmont Plateau 
are divisible into two distinct classes. The members of one of these 
classes are all completely crystalline, and, whatever was their origin, they 
now retain no certain evidence of clastic structure. These rocks are con- 
fined to the eastern portion of the plateau province and disappear beneath 

*See "The Petrography and Structure of the Piedmont Plateau in Maryland," by George H. 
Williams. Bull. Gcol. Soc. Am. , vol 2, pp. 301-323 and map, 1891. 



60 MARYLAND. 

the overlying deposits of unconsolidated sand, gravel and clay, which 
compose the Coastal Plain. 

The second class of Piedmont rocks are semi-crystalline, and, while 
they have been subjected to a certain amount of metamorpliism and 
alteration, they still plainly show that they were once sediments of an 
ordinary type. While as yet no fossils have been found in them, they are 
not more altered than similar formations which in other localities have 
yielded fossils, so that there is every reason to suppose that their age will 
subsequently be definitely determined on palaeontological evidence. While 
these semi-crystalline rocks are principally confined to the western half of 
the Plateau region, there are isolated areas of them within the holocrystal- 
line belt, which appear to be much younger, but which have been pro- 
tected from removal by being folded in among the gneisses. 

The line separating these two divisions of the Piedmont plateau, 
which we shall hereafter designate as the semi-crystalline (western) and 
holocrystalline (eastern) areas, is not coincident with the crest of Parr's 
Eidge, but lies on its eastern flank. Commencing in the south near Great 
Falls on the Potomac, it passes slightly west of Rockville and of Hood's 
Mills, then through Westminster on the Western Maryland railroad, and 
thence by a north-northeastward course to the Pennsylvania line. Further 
eastward there is a large area of the semi-crystalline schists in Harford 
county, surrounding the Peach Bottom and Delta roofing slates. These 
appear to be infolded in the gneisses, and are probably connected with the 
area near Finksburg by a narrow tongue passing the Northern Central 
railroad at Whitehall. 

The most striking feature in the structure of the Piedmont Plateau- is 
its radiating or fan-like structure, and the fact that the vertical strata 
forming the axis of this fan follow a direction neither parallel to, nor 
coincident with, the boundary between the crystalline and semi-crystalline 
rocks. (See section on the geological map.) These two lines start from 
the same point on the Potomac (Great Falls), but diverge more and more 
toward the north. The fan, therefore, while its axis is throughout com- 
posed of semi-crystalline rocks, has its western flank made up of the least 
crystalline, and its eastern flank of the most crystalline portion of the 
Piedmont region. 

Eastern Division. The various rock formations composing the 
eastern or holocrystalline division of the Piedmont Plateau, cross Mary- 
land from the southeast corner of Pennsylvania and the north end of 
Delaware in a general southwest direction. Their course is, however, not 
a straight one through the State, but forms a double curve, whose south 
side is convex on the east and concave on the west. This curve corresponds 
to the great westerly bend in the course of the triassic sandstone and 
folded Paleozoic beds of. eastern Pennsylvania. It is, of course, much 



GEOLOGY. 61 

less distinct in the highly crystalline rocks of the eastern Piedmont 
region, hut that its presence can he traced at all amid the varied and 
complex structures of these very ancient rocks, is welcome evidence that 
at least the final impress was imparted to their strike by the great 
Appalachian folding. The convex or eastern branch of this curve may 
be most distinctly traced on our map in the belts of marble north of 
Baltimore, which, near Towson, turn from a southwest direction to a trend 
directly west through the Green Spring valley. Toward the southwest 
these same marble belts turn again to the south-southwest, as do all the 
other rocks with which they are associated, and this course they hold into 
Virginia. 

There is abundant evidence that these structural features of the 
eastern Piedmont region are not, however, the only ones which belong to 
these rocks, but that their present metamorphism and complexity must be 
accounted for by assuming that they have been subjected to several 
successive periods of disturbance. 

The rocks composing the holocrystalline portion of the Piedmont 
Plateau in Maryland are petrographically divisible into six distinct types. 
Three of these are of undoubtedly eruptive origin, and may be designated 
according to their chemical and mineralogical composition, as gabbro, 
peridotite or pyroxenile and granite. The three remaining types — gneiss, 
marble and quartz-schist — are completely crystalline, and therefore 
exhibit no certain traces of clastic structure. 

The prevailing rock over the entire holocrystalline area is the gneiss. 
It enters the State from the north in a very Made band, completely 
surrounding the Delta Peach Bottom slate area, but its breadth rapidly 
contracts toward the Potomac. The remarkably irregular forms of the 
marble areas, which are intercalated in the gneiss complex, show how 
intricate the stratigraphy of the latter really is. Much of its apparent 
simplicity is due to the obliteration of its true bedding through secondary 
foliation. 

On the geological map which accompanies this volume, there are 
five distinctions made between the highly crystalline rocks which 
compose the eastern part of the Piedmont Plateau. The quartz-schist, 
with its characteristic muscovite layers and stretched black tourmalines 
is included with the prevailing gneiss, of which it forms one of many 
varieties. This schist is nearly free from feldspar, and is therefore hard 
and resistant. It forms a prominent elevation along the south side of the 
Green Spring and Mine Bank limestone valleys, known as "Setter's 
Ridge," and occurs at many other localities in Baltimore and Howard 
counties, generally in intimate association with the white marble. 

The Maryland gneisses themselves embrace a great variety of types, 
which range from granitoid aggregates of feldspar and quartz, on the one 



62 MARYLAND. 

hand, to nearly pure mica or hornblende schists on the other. All of 
these also show considerable structural variation in their coarseness of 
grain, the perfection of their parallel arrangement, etc. 

The gneiss is sometimes quite constant in character for considerable 
distances, but more usually it consists of a succession of differently con- 
stituted layers. 

In spite of a frequent persistence of strike and dip, the gneiss every- 
where shows that it has been subjected to intense and repeated dynamic 
action. This is apparent in the large features of its structure, in its 
greatly crumpled, gnarled and twisted character, and in the profound 
metamorphism, amounting to almost complete recrystallization, which has 
gone on within it. No certain traces of clastic origin have ever been 
detected in the Baltimore gneisses, although their sedimentary character 
may be inferred from their rapid alternations of beds of different com- 
position, and from the nature of other rocks intercalated in them, like the 
marbles and quartz-schists. In the continuation of the same rocks south- 
ward to the neighborhood of "Washington evidences of a conglomeratic 
character have also been observed. 

The color of the more massive gneisses varies from white to a dark 
grey or blue. The more micaceous and hornblendic varieties are dark 
brown or green. The mineral composition and structure is quite normal 
for gneisses. 

Superficial exposures of the gneiss are very rarely fresh. This wide- 
spread decay extends also for a considerable distance below the smface, 
at least in an incipient form, as may be seen from the very rapid dis- 
integration in road and railway cuttings, of rock hard enough to be 
blasted out. 

The marbles of the eastern plateau region are the only highly 
crystalline rocks of sedimentary origin which are separated on the 
geological map from the gneisses. They differ from all the other marbles 
and limestones of Maryland in being much more coarsely and perfectly 
crystalline. In chemical composition they vary from nearly pure calcium 
carbonate to a dolomite with 40 per cent, and over of magnesium 
carbonate. They have lost all evidence of an originally clastic structure 
through recrystallization, and they now have their impurities crystallized 
into silicates, like mica (phlogopite), tremolite, tourmaline, pyrite, scapolite, 
etc., which are frequently arranged in more or less parallel layers 
representing old bedding planes. 

These highly crystalline marbles are of the same age as the gneisses, 
and are infolded with them. In consequence of their greater solubility, 
they have been easily removed, and now occupy depressions like the 
Green Spring, "Worthington, Mine Bank, Dulany's and other valleys which 
are sharply bounded by the surrounding ridges of gneiss. 



GEOLOGY. 63 

The three types of eruptive rocks, which are distinguished on the 
geological map in the eastern plateau region, have all broken through and 
have more or less modified the gneisses, and are hence younger than these 
rocks. The intense dynamic action, which has produced such complete 
recrystallization in the handed complex, has likewise greatly meta- 
morphosed the eruptive rocks, and yet not enough to obliterate their 
original character. Each type exhibits several chemical or structural 
facies dependent on the original differentiation of the magma or upon 
conditions of solidification, and to these must be added other varieties 
due to subsequent metamorphism. 

The oldest, as well as the most extensive of the three eruptive rocks 
which so abundantly intrude the gneiss complex is the gabbro. Of this 
there are three main areas in Maryland — the Stony forest area of Harford 
and Cecil counties ; the great belt or sheet which extends from north of 
Conowingo, on the Susquehanna river, in a south-southwest direction to 
Baltimore city, and the irregular intrusive area which is mainly devel- 
oped to the west of Baltimore, but extends thence as far south as Laurel. 

For detailed information regarding this rock and the products of its 
metamorphism, reference must be made to the text and plates of two 
memoirs devoted to its description.* It is-a rather fine-grained granular 
aggregate of hypersthene, diallage, plagioclase (bytownite) and magnetite, 
with varying amounts of apatite and brown compact hornblende. It is 
usually, when unaltered, massive, dark in color, and heavy. 

Some varieties are of a pale buff color, but are rich in magnesia, thus 
forming transitions to the peridotites and pyroxenites; other modifica- 
tions are rich in alumina, producing highly f eldspathic rocks, while others 
have an excess of silica in the form of blue quartz. 

The action of pressure, which has caused the recrystallization of the 
gneiss and marble, is also very marked in the gabbro. It has caused its 
iron constituent, pyroxene, to change to another green mineral called 
hornblende. This has, in some cases, left the rock as massive as at first, 
and in other cases it has rendered it schistose. This resulting rock is 
called gabbro-diorite. The change has always been most complete where 
the mass of gabbro was smallest, as in narrow bands which frequently 
connect larger areas. This change is well shown along the Belair Road 
near Baltimore. 

The next eruptive rocks in point of age are the basic magnesian 
silicates, peridotite or pyroxenite, and their alteration products, serpentine 
and steatite. All these are represented with a single color on the map. 
These are intimately associated with the gabbros, but occur most abund- 

*" The Gabbros and associated Hornblende Rocks occurring near Baltimore, Md.," by George H. 
■Williams. Bulletin of the U. S. Geological Survey, No. 28, Washington, 1886. 

"The Gabbros and associated Rocks of Delaware," by F. D. Chester. Ibid, No. 59, Washington, 
1890. 



64 MARYLAND. 

antly toward tlie western edge of tlie crystalline region. They do not 
occur in as large masses as the other eruptive rocks, hut occupy numerous 
small areas like the " Bare Hills," " Soldier's Delight," and many others 
which it is unnecessary to enumerate. In Montgomery County the 
serpentine is also developed in the semi-crystalline schists of the western 
plateau district. 

The two main types of these rocks in their unaltered . condition 
consist of pure pyroxene (pyroxenite or websterite) or of pyroxene in 
association with olivine (peridotite or Iherzolite). These rocks have 
already been so thoroughly described by the writer in another place that 
no repetition is necessary here.* 

These two types of eruptive rocks, pyroxenite and peridotite, are 
peculiarly subject to alteration, which is not, however, decomposition. 
Briefly it is this : the pyroxene, when it occurs alone, tends to pass into 
secondary hornblende, and this in turn gives rise to talc. This is the 
origin of the extensive beds of steatite in eastern Maryland and Virginia. 
The talc is always mixed with more or less pale fibrous hornblende 
(tremolite) and chlorite. 

When, as in the peridotite, olivine accompanies the pyroxene, 
especially if it is bronzite, the rock tends to form serpentine instead of 
talc. The serpentine also contains secondary hornblende formed from 
the diallage. 

The youngest intrusive rocks which break through the gneiss are the 
granites. They form large masses at Port Deposit and Havre de Grace, 
on the Susquehanna River ; also near Joppa and to the north of Towson ; 
at Woodstock and Sykesville ; at and south of Ellicott City, and at several 
localities near Washington. The granites are so like the the surrounding 
gneisses in chemical, as well as in mineralogical composition, that where 
they have been greatly foliated through dynamic action, it becomes a 
matter of no small difficulty to distinguish them. 

These rocks are as a rule, Motite-granites, of medium grain and 
remarkably compact and homogeneous texture. They sometimes carry a 
considerable quantity of muscovite (Guilford), and are noticeable for the 
large and constant proportion of allanite which they contain. This 
mineral is surrounded by a parallel growth of the isomorphous epidote, as 
described by Dr. W. H. Hobbst 

Variations in the structure of the granites are due to the develop- 
ment of porphyritic crystals, as at Ellicott City and along the road from 
Meredith's Bridge on the Gunpowder River to Cockeysville. Other 

*" The Non-feldspathic Intrusive Rocks of Maryland and the Course of Their Alteration," by 
George H. Williams, American Geologist, July, 18U0. 

ton the Paragenesis of allanite and epidote as roek-forraing minerals. Am. Jour. Science 3 ser., 
vol. 38, pp. 223-228. Sept., 1889. 



GEOLOGY. 65 

structural facies are due to secondary features, like foliation, produced by 
dynamic agencies. 

• The gneisses of the Baltimore region are penetrated with a great 
abundance of dykes, veins and " eyes " of the coarse-grained granite, 
known as pegmatite. The other crystalline rocks of the region, although 
to a less extent, contain the same material. 

Within the Eastern Plateau region the pegmatite appears to have 
been produced in two ways. At least we seem compelled by direct 
evidence to assume that certain occurrences of it are true eruptive dykes, 
genetically related to the normal eruptive granites already described. 
For other occurrences an aqueous origin, by segregation, appears more 
probable, although the proof is not as good as in the former cases. 

The only other type of eruptive rock occurring in the eastern division 
of the Piedmont Plateau in Maryland is a long dyke of unaltered diabase, 
which preserves all the features of the normal triassic diabase occurring 
further west, and which is therefore referred to this age. 

The area of semi-crystalline slates and schist extending from Delta 
in Harford County to Finksburg, belong geologically to the western 
division of the Piedmont Plateau, and will therefore be considered with 
the similar rocks of this region in the succeeding section. 

Western Division. As has been already stated in the general 
description of the Piedmont Plateau (page 65), the western slope of 
Parr's Ridge, as far as the Monocacy River, is composed of little crystal- 
line or semi-crystalline rocks of sedimentary origin. These rocks are 
almost unaltered along their western margin, where they present the same 
characters as the sandstones, slates and limestones of the Blue Ridge and 
Frederick Valley, where their age has been determined by fossils. As they 
approach the axis of the " fan," however, which has been shown above 
(page 65) to be one of the principal features in the structure of the Pied- 
mont Plateau (see geological section on the map), these schists become 
more crystalline. Here they stand nearly vertical, and it is here that the 
dynamic action has been at a maximum, as is shown by the greatly 
contorted condition of the schists and by the abundant development of 
new minerals within them. The slates have become roofing-slates or 
chlorite and hydromica (sericite) schists, often full of ottrelite, rutile, 
biotite and other new constituents. The limestones have become com- 
pact, hard, fine-grained marbles. The geological position of these rocks 
has not yet been positively proved by fossils, and they are, therefore, 
designated on the geological map by a different color. Nevertheless, 
there is no reasonable doubt that they are Cambrian sandstones, Trenton 
limestones, and Hudson River shales in a more or less completely meta- 
morphosed form. 



66 MARYLAND. 

If we follow the succession of strata eastward from Catoctin Mountain, 
wliich hounds the Piedmont Plateau upon the west, Ave find, above the hard 
Cambrian sandstone, a little limestone, which, however, is immediately 
buried beneath the overlap of red sandstone. This blue limestone, whose 
fossils show it to be of Lower Silurian (Trenton) age, soon, hoAvever, 
emerges from beneath the overlying and unconformable Triassic (Newark) 
sandstone as a series of considerably folded beds, which are succeeded on 
the east and apparently overlain by carbonaceous and hardly altered 
shales. These are like those which occupy a similar position above the 
same limestone farther westward. Still beyond, there follow with the 
same easterly dip, the thick beds of sandstone wliich compose Sugaiioaf 
mountain. These thin out toward the north to a few insignificant sand- 
stone patches, while toward the south they soon disappear beneath the 
Newark transgression. The Sugaiioaf sandstone passes, on its eastern 
side, upward by a gradual transition through shaly layers into sandy 
slates, and these again into the succession of sericite and chlorite schists, 
which compose the mass of the semi-crystalline area. Beneath the sand- 
stone the shales are more disturbed, and, as there is here no such transi- 
tion, this surface represents a fault or thrust. The massive sandstone 
strata of Sugarloaf Mountain form a monocline with a rather gentle dip 
toward the east. The overlying sandy slates have the same inclination, 
and appear to be but little altered. When, however, these rocks are 
followed across their strike toward the east, they are seen to become more 
and more contorted, cleaved and faulted. 

Closely folded and puckered layers are frequent, and the secondary 
cleavage approaches nearer and nearer to the vertical. This succession is 
well displayed along the main stem of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, 
between Araby and Hood's Mills. The alteration and recrystallization of 
these rocks, attendant upon the increasing disturbance to which they have 
been subjected, becomes so great that it is not always easy to locate 
exactly the line of contact between them and the underlying and more 
ancient crystallines of the eastern Piedmont region. 

The deposit of red sandstone and shale, together with the limestone 
breccia (" Potomac marble " or " calico rock "), which covers a portion of 
the Frederick valley, lying along the east base of Catoctin Mountain, and 
spreading over a much wider area toward the north, represents an era 
geologically much more recent than any we have thus far considered. 
The strip of these red rocks, which here cross Maryland, represents a 
formation laid down in estuaries after the Appalachians had been elevated. 
Through all Paleozoic time, the sediments of which these mountains are 
formed, were accumulating. At the end of this time they were folded 
into a lofty range, at whose base the sandstone was deposited. The fossils 
and stratigraphical relations of this sandstone, known as the "Newark 



GEOLOGY. 67 

formation," show its geological position to be at the end of the first age 
of Mesozoic time or the Triassic. Its features are remarkably persistent 
along the whole Atlantic border. It occurs on the east side of the Bay of 
Fundy, it fills the valley of the Connecticut river, it runs in a wide band 
from southern New York, across northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
into Maryland, south of which it reappears in large, disconnected areas in 
Virginia and the Carolinas. The formation is throughout a red sand- 
stone with intercalated layers of shale, and intersected by dykes of a 
trappean volcanic rock (diabase), which also frequently forms inter- 
bedded sheets or flows. In Maryland the red sandstone dips at a gentle 
angle toward the mountain, and its beds, therefore, lie nearly perpen- 
dicular to the strata of limestone below them, which dip steeply to the 
east. This is technically known as an "unconformity," and indicates that 
the sandstone is younger than the action of the violent forces which have 
disturbed the older rocks. A somewhat exceptional member of the 
Newark sandstone in Maryland is the highly-colored conglomerate or 
breccia, composed of bluish pebbles of limestone, connected by a red 
cement, and known as Potomac marble. This rock is well exposed at 
Washington Junction, near the Potomac river, and near Frederick. The 
igneous rocks, of the age of the Newark sandstone in Maryland, form a 
continuous area, of considerable extent, near the Pennsylvania line, 
north of Emmitsburg, whence two long dykes extend southward. (See 
geological map.) The western of these is the most important. It can be 
traced entirely across the State, as a low but clearly-defined elevation, 
known as "Ironstone Ridge." It cuts the sandstone, but for a consider- 
able distance it lies outside of the sandstone now remaining, and intersects 
the older limestone, shale, and sandstone. The rock is compact, hard, 
and black; it is very heavy, but contains no iron of economic value. It 
weathers into a light red clay soil. 

THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN REGION. 

The section made by Maryland across the Appalachian system, 
between the Frederick valley and the western line of Garrett county, 
presents an almost complete and unbroken sequence of the sediments 
which accumulated during the entire duration of Paleozoic time. The 
oldest of these sediments are toward the east and the youngest toward 
the west, although the more or less abrupt folds into which they were 
thrown when they were raised into a mountain-chain have since been so 
cut off by erosion as to show a repeated succession of strata. (See 
geological section on map). 

The beds of sediments (limestones, sandstones and shales) which 
form the Appalachians, were deposited in a wide, long trough which 
once extended over the region now occupied by these mountains. This 



b8 MARYLAND. 

trough was undergoing gradual depression through the whole of Paleo- 
zoic time, until about 40,000 feet of conformable beds had accumulated 
in it, mainly as the debris of a continental mass lying to the east. This 
vast accumulation was, at the end of the coal age, so compressed as to be 
forced up into a lofty range of mountains. The present Appalachians 
are merely the remnants of this range worn down by waste through 
many successive periods. The compressive force which raised these 
mountains acted from the east toward the west, hence the most intense 
disturbance is always observable on the eastern side of the range, and 
this dies away gradually into the central plains. A second result of this 
action from the east is that all the folds are tipped toward the west, and 
all the great faults show a thrust in the same direction. 

As has been already pointed out, the mountain system of Maryland 
is divisible into three distinct portions, an eastern range of faults — the 
Blue Ridge; a middle range of steep folds — the Appalachians proper _ 
and a western plateau of gentle folds — the Alleghanies. The prevailing' 
strata in these three divisions are likewise distinct, being oldest in the 
eastern, intermediate in the central, and youngest in the western region. 
The Blue Ridge and Great Valley. This division in Maryland 
extends from the Frederick valley to the foot of North Mountain. It is 
composed of the oldest Paleozoic strata, embracing the Cambrian and 
Lower Silurian or Ordivician deposits. On the geological map these are 
subdivided into only three horizons — Cambrian, Trenton and Hudson 
River. 

The oldest, or Cambrian, consists mainly of hard sandstone, which 
forms the summits of the Blue and Catoctin mountains. Mr. Arthur 
Keith, of the United States Geological Survey, has made five minor 
divisions in the Cambrian rocks of the Blue Ridge of Maryland*, as 
follows : 
5. Cambrian Limestone : blue-banded and mottled limestone, with thin 

beds of sandy shale and limestone conglomerate; Cambrian 

fossils. 
4. Antietam Sandstone: fine grained white sandstone, with scolithus 

and Lower Cambrian fossils 250 ft. 

3. Harper's Ferry Shales : Grey sandy shales, with same sandstone beds, 

scolithus and Lower Cambrian fossils 1,200 to 1,500 ft. 

2. Weaverton Sandstone: Gray massive sandstone, often coarse and 

feldspathic 1,000 to 1,200 ft. 

1. Loudon Shales, grey and black slaty shales 400 feet. 

This sequence grades upward through its top member into the lower 
Silurian limestone (Trenton-Chazy) of the Cumberland Valley. The sand- 
stones are cut by a number of great faults along which they have been 

* American Geologist, vol. X. , Dec. 1892, p. 365. 



GEOLOGY. 



69 



thrust forcibly toward the west, and thus often overlie rocks which are 
in reality younger than themselves. This fact has made the deciphering 
of the structure of this part of the Blue Ridge difficult, and it has only 
recently been finally settled through the discovery of Lower Cambrian 
Fossils by Mr. C. D. Walcott, of the U. S. Geological Survey.* 

From all the central portion of the Blue Ridge in Maryland the 
sandstones and shales have been removed, and the older crystalline rocks 
upon which they rest are revealed. These consist in part of ancient 
volcanic rocks and in part of granites. The volcanic rocks are of two 
types, one corresponding to the acid lavas (rhyolite) and the other to the 
basic (basalt) of recent volcanic regions. These rocks are even better 
developed in the extension of the Blue Ridge into Pennsylvania, where 
they have been recently studied by the writer.f Both the volcanic rocks 
and the granites, which are confined to the Middletown "Valley and to 
the region between Harper's Ferry and Weaverton, have been consider- 
ably altered by the intense pressure to which they have been subjected. 
This has so completely foliated them that until recently they have been 
regarded as sedimentary slates. 

The broad and fertile Cumberland or Hagerstown valley, which 
stretches from the Blue Ridge to North Mountain, belongs geologically 
to the former. It is mainly composed of the blue Silurian limestone, 
which also underlies the Frederick Valley, although none of the over- 
lying red sandstone of triassic age occurs here. On the other hand there 
are long, narrow areas of shale infolded with the limestone, which 
belong to the next younger or Hudson River division of the Silurian age. 

As has been already indicated, the rocks of the western or semi- 
crystalline portion of the Piedmont Plateau, east of the Blue Ridge as 
far as the eastern flank of Parr's Ridge, are the same as those forming 
the Blue Mountain and Great Valley, but in a more or less altered condi- 
tion. The limestones of the Hagerstown or Frederick valleys are the 
same, as has been shown by their fossils.J The Sugar-loaf sandstone is 
the same as that of Catoctin Mountain, while the slates above the lime- 
stone, which are largely metamorphosed into phyllites, are of Hudson 
River age. This horizon contains the great roofing-slate quarries along 
the northwest edge of the Great Valley in eastern Pennsylvania and 
New Jersey ; but in southeastern Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia 
the roofing slates occur in the more eastern rnetamorphic belt, as at 
Peach Bottom, Delta, Ijamsville, Quantico and Arvon. At the latter 
place, near the James River, Va., Mr. N. H. Darton has recently found 
well preserved crinoids of Hudson River age.§ 

*American Journal of Science, 3d ser., Vol. 44, Dee., 1892; p. 469. 
t American Journal of Science, 3d ser.. Vol. 44, Dec., 1892; p. 482. 
JC. R. Keyes, Johns Hopkins University Circulars, No. 83. 
§ American Journal of Science, 3d ser.. Vol. 44, July, 1892; p. 50. 



70 MARYLAND. 

The Appalachians Proper. This province of the Appalachian 
system includes the central portion of the mountains, which in Mary- 
land lies where the State is narrowest, between the western edge of the 
great valley (North Mountain), and Dan's Mountain west of Cumber- 
land. Throughout its entire extent this province exhibits in the most 
characteristic manner the typical Appalachian structure as made out by 
Rogers. It is traversed by narrow and remarkably parallel ridges which 
succeed one another en echelon, and which owe their existence to the 
regular folds into which the strata have been thrown. 

Within Maryland's territory the province of the Appalachians 
proper is divisible into three belts : the two outer ones being cmite 
closely folded, while the middle arc is composed of beds whose undula- 
tions are comparatively gentle. 

The most easterly of these three divisions may be called the North 
Mountain belt. It is about fifteen miles wide, and extends from the 
western edge of the Hagerstown Valley to the western slope of Tonolo- 
way Hill. Within this distance the strata are so closely folded that 
almost all the Silurian and Devonian beds are brought repeatedly to 
the surface. The portion of North Mountain itself which lies within 
the limits of Maryland is a great anticlinal of Medina Sandstone (No. 
IV), whose central portion has been removed toward the north, exposing 
the soft Hudson River shales in Blair's Valley between its two sand- 
stone flanks. Toward the south, however, the anticlinal so rapidly 
narrows, that most of the overlying beds, Clinton (V), Helderberg (VI), 
Oriskany (VII), and Hamilton (VIII), are crowded nearly against the 
great fault separating the valley from the mountain, before the Potomac 
is reached. 

On the west side of North Mountain succeeds the synclinal valley of 
Licking Creek, composed mainly of Hamilton-Chemuing shales (No. 
VIII), but exposing also the overlying Catskill sandstone (No. IX) in its 
southern portion. Into this Hamilton-Chemuing area projects from the 
north the anticlinal loop of older strata, which surrounds the narrow 
valley of Trenton limestone in Fulton County, Pa., known as the 
McConnellsburgh limestone cove. On the west side of this anticlinal 
loop, which wholly disappears before reaching the Potomac, the 
Hamilton-Chemuing strata are less disturbed, and compose most of the 
surface as far as a point just west of Hancock, where the anticlinal 
fold of Tonoloway Hill commences. East of Hancock the Hamilton- 
Chemuing beds (No. VIII), are, in part, overlain by two thin strips of the 
younger Catskill sandstone. Tonoloway Hill forms the western member 
of the North Mountain belt. It is an anticlinal ridge of Clinton-Niagara 
(No. V), flanked on each side by narrow bands of Helderberg limestone 
(No. VI) and Oriskany sandstone (No. VII). The ridge soon dies out as 



GEOLOGY. 71 

a loop in Fulton County, Pa. At Round Top, where the Potomac River 
cuts into Tonoloway Hill, three miles southwest of Hancock, the folds 
of the Helderberg limestone, and the underlying layer of red sandstone 
(Salina), are exhibited in a perfection rarely excelled anywhere in the 
mountains. 

The middle of the three belts of the Appalachian province proper 
in Maryland lies between Tonoloway Hill and Warrior's Ridge, which 
rises on the west side of Town Creek. It embraces the three ridges 
known as Sideling and Town Hills and Polish Mountain, with their 
intervening valleys. The strata in this belt are almost altogether 
Devonian, and their comparatively gentle undulations offer a contrast 
to the sharper folds on both the east and west sides. The surface within 
this belt is, for the most part, composed of Hamilton-Chemuing strata, 
frequently capped by remnants of the Catskill sandstone. Along the 
crest of Sideling Hill a strip of the still younger subcarboniferous sand- 
stone (No. X) is left. The only older rocks are found in the narrow anti- 
clinal loop of Oriskany and Helderberg, which projects northward across 
the Potomac, opposite the mouth of the South Branch. 

The third of the belts of the Appalachian province proper in Mary- 
land is closely folded like that on the east. It occupies the area between 
Flintstone and Dan's Mountain, and consists of three parallel and sharply 
anticlinal ridges — Warrior's, Martin's and Will's Mountains — whose axes 
consist in each case of hard Medina sandstone (No. IV). These folds soon 
die out toward the south ; but the sandstone remains at the surface longer 
in the western ridge (Will's Mountain) than in the middle one, and longer 
in the middle one (Martin's Ridge) than in the one farthest east. Hence 
each range grows longer as we pass westward, while the younger strata 
from Clinton to Chemuing (Nos. V-VIII) encircle their southern ends and 
fill the intervening valleys. (See map.) 

Each of these three folds is steepest on its western side, as is the 
rule of Appalachian structure. Indeed, it is hard to find a more instruc- 
tive or typical section in this whole range than is seen in passing from 
the Hamilton shales on the east side of the city of Cumberland, through 
the "Narrows" and across the valley of Will's Creek toward Dan's 
Mountain. The sequence of Upper Silurian and Devonian strata is 
crossed three times, first with moderate dip up the gentle flank of Will's 
Mountain on the east, then closely compressed, plunging with nearly 
vertical dip down its steep western flank, and finally climbing again with 
more gentle dip the eastern slope of the front range of the Alleghanies. 
(See geological section on map.) 

The Alleghany Plateau. The whole of Maryland west of Will's 
Creek belongs to the great plateau of the Alleghanies, which gently 
undulates across West Virginia and Pennsylvania into the plains of 



72 MARYLAND. 

Ohio. Maryland's portion of this plateau is a triangle which includes 
Garrett, and the western part of Alleghany county. From Will's Creek 
the country rises rapidly to the summit of Dan's Mountain (2,100 ft.), west 
of which it maintains a relatively high elevation to the western line of 
the State. The rocks are the youngest of the Paleozoic series — Upper 
Devonian and Carboniferous. They are sandstones, conglomerates and 
shales, with -very little limestone, and carry near their top the seams of 
coal which give to this geological horizon its name, and make it, the 
world over, of paramount importance. These strata in western Mary- 
land are bent into very gentle folds, and as the middle beds (Pottsville, 
No. XII) are the _ hardest, these have most successfully resisted the 
forces of erosion, and stand out in bold ridges. Between these are 
alternately flat anticlinal valleys of older rocks and synclinal valleys 
of younger ones, as is shown in the geological section. 

There are two series of these ridges in western Maryland, which 
converge toward the south. Members of the eastern series trend south- 
west, while those belonging to the western series trend nearly south. 
To the first series belong Dan's, Great Backbone or Savage, and Meadow 
mountains; to the second series, Negro Mountain, Winding Ridge and 
Laurel Hill. The two innermost members of these converging sets, 
Negro and Meadow Mountains, as will readily be seen by reference to 
the map, unite above Oakland, and surround, as with a wall, the flat 
synclinal trough of carboniferous rocks around Grantville. On both 
sides of this basin are rugged upland valleys of hard sandstones — Cat- 
skill (No. IX) and Chemung (No. VIII). Since these rocks are all older 
than the mountain-forming conglomerate, they represent two flat anti- 
clinal arches, whose former coverings have been worn away. South of 
the Grantville coal basin, these two valleys unite, forming the high- 
lands, upon which stand Deer Park and Oakland. The great anticlinal 
V of upper Devonian strata in Garrett' County, is flanked by the two 
central ridges of the two converging series — Great Backbone or Savage 
Mountain on the east aud Winding Ridge on the west. These, like the 
ridges surrounding the central coal-basin, are capped and protected by 
the hard, resistant Pottsville conglomerate (No. XII), and each forms the 
rim of an external coal-basin. East of Savage Mountain is the George's 
Creek coal field, while west of Winding Ridge is the carboniferous basin 
of the Youghiogheny River. Geologically these are alike, and symmetri- 
cally arranged, but, economically, they are of very unequal importance. 
The Grantville and Youghiogheny coal basins are relatively small exten- 
sions of the ;vast Appalachian coal field, which reaches its maximum 
development farther west. Although the continuation of these areas 
northward into Pennsylvania becomes valuable, they carry in Maryland 
only the lower productive and barren coal measures which, unfortunately, 



V ft 




APPALACHIAN STRUCTURE. VERTICAL ORISKANY AND HELDERBERG STRATA NORTHWEST OF CUMBERLAND. 



GEOLOGY. 73 

have not yet proved capable of being worked with profit in our State. 
Hence no mining operations are carried on in the two Garrett county 
coal basins. 

The smaller coal area in western Alleghany County, on the other 
hand, lying between Savage and Dan's Mountains, contains extensive 
remnants of a former covering of the upper productive coal-measures 
(No. XV). These here carry a great 14-foot vein of semi-bituminous 
coal, and thus reach their highest development as regards quality and 
value. Thus this smallest in extent of Maryland's three coal fields 
becomes one of her greatest sources of wealth, as is explained more 
fully beyond, in the account of the coal industry. 

THE COASTAL PLAIN. 

The area of lowland which borders the Piedmont Plateau upon the 
east passes with constantly decreasing elevation seaward, and has been 
already described under the name of the Coastal Plain. It is made up 
of geological formations of younger date than those found in the central 
and western portions of the State, and furthermore have been only 
slightly changed since they were deposited. Laid down upon the 
edge of the crystalline belt, when the sea stood near the eastern border 
of the Piedmont Plateau, these later sediments form a series of thin 
sheets, which are inclined slightly to the eastward, so that successively 
later formations are encountered in passing from the interior of the 
country toward the coast. 

Oscillation of the sea floor, bearing its accumulated sediments, went 
on during the period of Coastal Plain deposition, and as a result the 
formations present along their western margins much complexity. At 
such points it is not uncommon to find intermediate members of the 
series lacking, so that the discrimination of the different horizons in the 
absence of fossils is often attended with great uncertainty. 

The Coastal Plain sediments deposited after a long break in time 
between the red sandstones of the Triassic age, hitherto considered, and 
the lowermost of the series now to be described, complete the sequence 
of geological formations found represented in Maryland. From the time 
deposition opened in the coastal region to the present, constant sedimen- 
tation has apparently been going on, although at times unconformities 
appear along the landward margins of the different formations which, 
as already mentioned, indicate marked changes of level in proximity to 
the coast. 



74 MARYLAND. 

The formations of the Coastal Plain consist of the following 

f Pleistocene (Columbia). 

_, . ! ' Pliocene (Lafayette). 

Cenozotc. \ ,,. ,„■. / 



Formations 

of the 

Coastal Plain. 



Miocene (Chesapeake). 
L Eocene (Pamunkey). 

Mesozoic. {Cretaceous { Upper (Severn) 

I. I Lower (Potomac). 

The Lower Cretaceous {Potomac). — The Lower Cretaceous deposits 
directly overlie the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont Plateau, and are 
to a considerable extent formed of debris from the same, although a vast 
amount of material has been transported from the Appalachian Moun- 
tains beyond and become mingled with the waste from the former. 
The Lower Cretaceous, as well as later formations, has been derived 
from both the areas that lie to the westward. These materials were 
borne into the sea in great amounts, particularly during Lower Creta- 
ceous time, when the forces of erosion were most active. On account 
of the downward tilting of the eastern margin of the old base-leveled 
surface of the plateau region and a corresponding elevation landward, 
the velocity of the streams and consequently their denuding and trans- 
porting power were accelerated. The sediments were scattered by rapid 
shore currents for great distances along the coast, and the alternating 
and irregularly deposited sands and clays give evidence of marked 
mechanical disturbances, while the fauna and flora indicate further that 
the conditions were probably brackish water, possibly estuarine in 
character. 

The Lower Cretaceous, known along the middle Atlantic slope under 
the name of the Potomac formation* (Baltimorean and Albirupean, of 
Uhlerf), is found extending northward to New Jersey, and the islands 
bordering the New England coast, while southward it extends along the 
eastern edge of the Piedmont Plateau to Georgia, and into the Gulf 
region, where it has been described under the name of the Tuscaloosa 
formation. 

The deposits of the Lower Cretaceous consist chiefly of sands and 
clays, with gravels at certain points where the shore accumulations are 
still preserved. The sands and clays alternate, and show both a vertical 
and horizontal gradation into one another. The sand layers are seldom 
widely extended, being generally found as lenticular masses, which 
rapidly diminish in thickness from their centres. The attempts that 
have been made to divide the Lower Cretaceous into a lower sandy and 
upper clayey member, have not been altogether successful, since, in 

* MeGee, W. J., Three Formations of the Middle Atlantic Slope, Amcr. Jour. Set., 3d ser.. Vol. 
35, 1888, pp. 126-143. 

tAmer. Phil. Soc. Proa, Vol. 25, 1888, pp. 42-53. 



GEOLOGY. 75 

different localities, at a corresponding position in tbe series, both sand 
and clay are found. Highly colored and variegated clays (iron ore clays 
of Tyson*) abound, however, in the upper portion of the formation, and 
have yielded large amounts of nodular carbonate of iron. Extensive 
diggings have been opened in the region to the southwest of Baltimore, 
and the ores extracted have been used in the furnaces of the vicinity. 

The clays have also great value for pottery and brick-making, and a 
large part of the local materials so used come from this formation. 

Beds of sand are found underlying the clays at Federal Hill and 
other points, while even larger deposits occur in the upper portion of the 
series on the Patuxent and Severn Rivers. At the latter locality the 
sands are of such thickness and purity as to be of considerable economic 
importance, and extensive diggings have been opened. 

The width of outcrop of the Lower Cretaceous is about 15 miles in 
the centre of the State. Its marginal contact with the crystalline rocks 
is a jagged, irregular line, at times broken, while detached, isolated 
masses frequently lie to the west of the main area. Its eastern border 
is more regular than its western, but due to the unequal erosion of the 
country is more or less sinuous, reaching farthest eastward along the 
channels of the streams. The Lower Cretaceous extends from north- 
east to southwest across the State, the main body of the formation 
being found in Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Prince 
George's counties. Upon the eastern shore of the Chesapeake it reaches 
into Kent county and along the Potomac into Charles county. 

The fossils found in the deposits, although not as numerous or distinc- 
tive as might be desired, yet indicate beyond doubt the Cretaceous age of 
the formation. They consist chiefly of the bones of dinosaurian reptiles 
and leaf impressions. The former, found in Prince George's county, 
have been described by Professor O. C. Marsh, f of Yale University. The 
leaf impressions, many of which come from Federal Hill, Baltimore, 
have been studied by palaeobotanists, and an elaborate monograph has 
been published by Professor William Fontaine,J of the University of 
Virginia. 

The Upper Cretaceous {Severn). The Upper Cretaceous, the exist- 
ence of which in the series of geological formations found represented 
on the western shore of the Chesapeake had not been recognized 
previously, was investigated by the writer in 1888 and described shortly 
after in the Johns Hopkins University Circulars. § A further account of 
the same was published shortly after by Uhler.|| Darton,f in 1891, called 

* First Rept. State Agricul. Chemist of Md., 1860, pp. 30, 43. 

timer. Jour. Sei., 3a ser., vol. 35, 1888; pp. 89-94. 

tU. S. Geol. Survey Monograph, vol. xv. 

§ Johns Hopkins University Circulars, No. 69, pp. 20, 21. 

II Maryland Acad. Sci., Trans., vol. I, pp. 11-32. 

HGeol. Soc. America, Bull., vol. 2, pp. 431-450. 



^6 MARYLAND. 

it tlie Severn formation, from the typical locality on the Severn River, 
in the vicinity of which the strata were first investigated by the 
writer. The occurrence of the Upper Cretaceous in a limited district on 
the eastern shore of the Chesapeake had been, however, earlier mentioned 
by Ducatel* and Tyson,f who gave brief descriptions of the same. 

The Upper Cretaceous strata, where observed, rest unconforinably 
upon the Lower Cretaceous, which, taken together with the marked 
change in the character of the deposits, renders the determination of 
their boundary line generally a simple matter. 

The materials out of which the deposits of the Upper Cretaceous are 
formed consist of fine sands and clays, clearly stratified, and in the case 
of the clays often laminated. The clays and sandy clays are generally 
dark, often black in color. They are highly micaceous, indicating the 
crystalline rocks of the Piedmont Plateau as the source of the materials. 
The highly homogeneous and persistent character of the beds shows that 
deposition went on under similar and quiet conditions throughout a wide 
region of the sea-floor. In this respect the deposits of the Upper 
Cretaceous stand in marked contrast to those of the Lower Cretaceous, 
where every evidence of mechanical disturbance is present. 

Certain constant lithological differences in the deposits of the Upper 
Cretaceous have been noted over wide areas. The lower portion of the 
formation is more highly carbonaceous, and thus darker than the upper 
beds, which are generally grayish or reddish in color. The lower portion 
is also more argillaceous and more frequently laminated than the upper, 
which is generally sandy. 

The Upper Cretaceous is much more fully developed in New Jersey 
than in Maryland, and in the former State contains extensive beds of 
green-sand which are lacking in the Maryland strata, although glauconite, 
the chief constituent of green-sand, is found sparsely scattered through 
the deposits at a few points. To the south of Maryland the Upper 
Cretaceous does not appear again at the surface until North Carolina is 
reached, in which State and South Carolina, as well as throughout the 
Gulf, it is well developed. 

In Maryland the Upper Cretaceous extends as a narrow band across 
Cecil and Kent counties, on the Eastern Shore, numerous fossils having 
been found at the head of Bohemia Creek and on the banks of Sassafras 
River. On the Western Shore it is found in Anne Arundel and Prince 
George's counties, characteristic fossils having been obtained by the 
writer on the Magothy and Severn Rivers, at Millersville and Collington, 
near Bennings, and at the Fort Washington bluff, on the Potomac River. 

* Reports for 1835, '36 and '37. 

t First Rept. State Agrioul. Chemist of Md, 1860, pp. 76- 78. 



GEOLOGY. 77 

Among the fossils recognized from the Maryland Cretaceous are 
Ter ebr alula Harlani,Ostrea sp., Oryphaea vesicular is , Exogyra costata, 
Plana laqueata, Cibola rostellata, Cuadlaea vulgaris, Oucullaea tip- 
pana, Pectunculus Mortoni, Trigonia Mortoni, Nucula percrassa, 
Perrisonata prutexta, Crassatella vadosa, Crassatella transversa 
Veniella Conradi, Cardium eufaulense, Cardium multiradiatum, 
Cardium perelongatum, Cyprimeria densata, Panopaea decisa, Dosinia 
erecta, Tellimera eborea, Amauropsis punctata, Margaritata abyssima, 
Turritella vertebroides, Turritella trilirata, Actaeon cretacea, Baculites 
ovatus, Ammonites lobatus. 

Many of the forms are highly characteristic for the Upper Cretaceous, 
hut whether the deposits in Maryland represent all or only a, portion of 
the more complete series represented in New Jersey and in the Gulf 
cannot be definitely determined. The fossils hitherto found seem to 
indicate the absence of the upper portion of the series as developed in 
New Jersey. 

The Eocene {Pamunkey). The third of the geological formations 
found represented in the Coastal Plain of Maryland is the Eocene, 
which extends along the eastern border of the United States from 
New Jersey to Texas, although its continuity is broken at several points, 
on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The area of the Eocene found 
represented in Maryland is a part of an almost continuous outcrop 
extending from central Delaware to southern Virginia. On account 
of the distinctive character of the deposits, both lithologically and 
paleontologically, they have been called the Pamunkey formation by 
Darton* from their typical development on the Pamunkey River, in 
Virginia. 

The remarkable green-sands and numerous fossils found in this 
formation early attracted the attention of geologists. Although the 
valuable contributions of Finchf and Say| in 1824 included references to 
the Maryland Tertiary, the first really important geological inferences, 
drawn from a study of the organic remains, were made by Conrad§ in 
the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for 
1890. Many articles by the same author upon the Maryland Tertiary 
followed in subsequent years, and to-day the contributions of Conrad 
remain the most exhaustive that we have upon the Eocene of the State. 
The more recent articles of Tyson||, Uhlerf , Darton**, Heilprinff and the 

* Geol. Soc. America Bull., Vol. 2, 1890, p. 439. 

t Amer. Jour. Soi., vol. 7, 1824, pp. 31-43. 

X Philadelphia Acad. Nat. Sci., Jour., vol. 4, 1824, pp. 124-155. 

§ Ibid., vol. 6, 1830, pp. 205-217. 

!l First Kept. Agricul. Chemist of Md. 

"[Maryland Acad. Sci. Trans., vol. 1, pp. 11-32, 45-72. 

**Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 2, 1891, pp. 440-442, 450. 

tt Contributions to the Tertiary Geology and Paleontology of the United States, 1884, pp. 10-14. 



78 MARYLAND. 

writer* have added many new facts, but there is much to be done before 
all the problems presented by the Eocene of Maryland will be fully 
solved. 

The Eocene deposits extend as a nearly unbroken belt from the 
Delaware line to the Potomac River, and are found in Cecil, Kent, 
Queen Anne, Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Charles counties. The 
strike is approximately northeast and southwest; the dip 20 to 30 feet in 
the mile toward the southeast. The breadth of outcrop upon the eastern 
shore of the Chesapeake is scarcely five miles at the head of the Sassafras 
Elver, but gradually expands toward the southwest until upon the west- 
ern shore it is in places more than twenty-five miles wide. 

The lithological character of the rocks is remarkably persistent. The 
typical deposit is a green-sand marl, which may, however, by chemical 
changes, lose its characteristic green color, and by the deposition of a 
greater or less amount of hydrous iron oxide be found as an incoherent 
red sand or firm red or brown sandstone. To this is added at times a 
siliceous cement that produces a firm siliceous sandstone, from which 
generally most of the carbonate of lime has been removed in solution, 
so that the organic forms are found only in the shape of casts. The 
green-sand type is chiefly confined to the southwestern portion of the 
area in Charles and Prince George's counties, where the deposits over- 
lying the Eocene attain their greatest thickness. In Anne Arundel 
county and on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake the Eocene is less 
deeply buried and the strata are more thoroughly weathered, affording 
greenish gray or red sands, and at times bands of firm sandstone. 

The origin of green-sand has long been a subject of great query. 
The distribution of the green-sand deposits, and the conditions under 
which they were formed, were not well understood until the recent 
publication of the results of the Challenger Expedition upon deep sea 
deposits. 

The accumulation of green-sand upon the present sea floor is found 
to be limited to exposed coasts and to depths just beyond the action of 
waves and currents. It never extends to the greatest depths, nor is it 
found along coasts where the streams carry a large amount of sediment 
into the sea. Along the higher parts of the continental slope it 
borders portions of all the continents. 

The green-sand is not an original sediment like the deposits hitherto 
described, but is of secondary formation. The mineral glauconite, the 
presence of which characterizes the green-sand, is always found in con- 
nection with those minerals distinctive of continental rocks and with 
fragments of the rocks themselves, among which gneiss, micaschist and 

*Johns Hopkinc University Circulars Xo. 65. pp. 65-87; No 81, pp. 69-71; Xo. S9, pp. 1U5-10S; Xo. 95, 
pp. 37-39. C. S. Geol. Survey Bulletin Xo. S3, l«e, pp. 43-45. 



GEOLOGY. 79 

granite are frequent types. Associated with these materials are the 
shells of Foraminifera and other calcareous organisms. The minute 
grains of glauconite occur generally as casts of these shells. It is sup- 
posed by Murray and Kenard* that if "the organic matter enclosed in the 
shell, and in the mud itself, transforms the iron in the mud into sulphide, 
which may be oxidized into hydrate, sulphur being at the same time 
liberated, this sulphur would become oxidized into sulphuric acid, which 
would decompose the fine clay, setting free colloid silica, alumina being 
removed in solution ; thus we have colloid silica and hydrate oxide of 
iron in a state suitable for their combination." The potash which is 
necessary to complete the composition of glauconite is held to be derived 
from the decomposition of the fragments of crystalline rocks or their 
common minerals, orthoclase and white mica. 

Green-sand has considerable economic importance as a fertilizer, but 
has never been employed to any extent in Maryland. In New Jersey, on 
the other hand, the green-sand marls have been extensively used, and the 
great fertility of much of the farming land in the eastern and southern 
portions of the State may be directly traced to it. 

No widespread division of the series into different horizons is indi- 
cated upon lithological grounds, as the variations in composition are 
apparently due to subsequent chemical changes rather than to original 
deposition. There are a few local beds of clay and some gravels, but the 
deposits are chiefly green-sands, either in an unaltered or weathered state. 
It is likewise impossible with our present imperfect knowledge of the 
Eocene fauna to attempt to establish definite horizons upon the basis of 
the fossils, as even the geological range of the best known forms has not 
been as yet fully determined. 

Among the more common species found in the Maryland Eocene are : 
Ostrea compressiroslra, Qucullcea gigantea, Ouaullcea transversa, Pec- 
tuneulus stamineus, Orassatella alazformis, Crassatella palmula, Cras- 
satella capricranium, Cardita regia, Oardita planicosta, Dosiniopsis 
MeeJcii, CytTierea ovala, Pholadomya marylandica, Glycimeris elongata, 
Pholas petrosa, Monodonta Glandula, Turritella humerosa, Turritella 
Mortoni. 

Of these Qucidlcea gigantea is chiefly confined to the basal strata, 
although in individual cases, as reported by Uhler and Darton, it has 
been found in the upper portions of the series. Turritella Mortoni, on 
the other hand, is infrequent in the lowest beds, and in the sections on 
the Potomac and its tributaries is found above those layers in which the 
Qucullcea gigantea is most numerous. 

Hitherto few Eocene fossils have been obtained from the deposits of 
the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. At the head of the creeks tributary 

* Challenger Expedition Keports, Iieep Sea Deposits, 1893, p. 389. 



80 MARYLAND. 

to the Chester River and on the hills to the north of the latter several 
characteristic forms are reported by Uhler. Among them Twrritella 
Mortoni, Gardita planicosta, Cucullcea transversa, Pectunculus sta- 
mineus and Ostrea compressirostra have been identified. 

On the western shore of the Chesapeake there are numerous localities 
where typical Eocene fossils are found in great numbers. At South River 
in Anne Arundel county, and Upper Marlboro, Fort Washington and 
Piscataway Creek, in Prince George's county, the sections with their 
fossils have been studied with some care. 

The section* afforded by the Fort Washington bluff, so frequently 
referred to in geological literature, is presented below. 
Section of Fort Washington. 

Pleistocene Coarse gravel 8 feet. 

Eocene Red sand with casts of Turritella Mortoni, Dosiniopsis Meelcii, 

Gytherea ovata, OrassateUa sp., Ostrea sp 12 feet. 

( Light, variegated sands, slightly glauconitic 10 feet. \ 

Upper Cretaceous . . -j Dark, micaceous sand, with Cyprimeria densata, OrassateUa !- 20 feet. 

' vadosa, Cueulkea vulgaris, etc 10 feet. ) 

Lower Cretaceous. . . Variegated clay, slightly lignitic on upper surface, with layers 

of ironstone 55 feet. 

The Eocene deposits of Maryland may be considered to represent a 
single horizon until a more detailed examination of the range of the 
different fossil forms affords us evidence for a division upon that basis. 

Hie Miocene {Chesapeake). Occupying the region to the southeast 
of the Eocene, and extending across the State from northeast to south- 
west, is the Miocene. The great number of organic remains contained in 
its deposits early attracted the attention of geologists, in whose writings 
are found minute descriptions of both the strata and their fossils. Many 
of the latter afforded the original types for Conrad's species. Several of 
the more important publications upon the Tertiary have already been 
referred to in the chapter upon the Eocene, and need not be repeated 
here. 

On account of the superb sections of the Miocene found exposed 
upon both shores of Chesapeake Bay, and along its tributaries, it has 
been called the Chesapeake formation by Dartonf. 

The Miocene extends from New Jersey, where it occurs as a thick 
series of beds which have been penetrated to a depth of many hundred 
feet in the well borings at Atlantic City, to the southward along the 
eastern border of the continent. In Virginia it covers much of the eastern 
portion of the State, and has been penetrated to a depth of 1,000 feet at 
Fort Monroe. 

The deposits of the Miocene lie unconformably upon those of the 
Eocene, and overlap them along their western border, where they often 
rest upon the Cretaceous. 

* Johns Hopkins University Circulars, vol. 9, No. 81, 1890, p. 70. 
tGeol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 2, 1891, pp. 443-445. 



GEOLOGY. 81 

The Miocene consists of sands, clays, marls and diatomaceous beds. 
The latter, composed chiefly of the shells of microscopic plant forms 
called diatoms, are in the main confined to the lower portion of the 
formation, and afford fine sections at Pope's Creek, on the Potomac, at 
the mouth of Lyon's Creek, a tributary of the Patuxent, and at Herring 
bay, on the western shore of the Chesapeake. At these points the light 
colored bluffs are very striking objects in the landscape. The pure 
diatomaceous earth reaches a thickness of about 30 feet; although the 
remains of diatoms are found scattered in greater or less numbers 
throughout much of the overlying strata. The beds of diatomaceous earth 
at Pope's Creek extend for two or three miles along the face of the bluffs 
until they finally disappear at water level. The diatomaceous earth can 
be traced from the Eastern Shore of Maryland across the State to the 
Potomac River. It is also found extending into Southern Virginia. From 
its occurrence beneath Richmond it has been called " Richmond earth." 
It was also referred to for a time in the literature of the subject as " Ber- 
muda earth " from its supposed occurrence on the Island of Bermuda ; 
but the specimens upon which this reference was based were ultimately 
shown to come from Bermuda Hundred, on the James River. The 
diatomaceous earth has also been frequently described under the names of 
" Infusorial earth," " Tripoli " and " Silica." The deposits of diatomaceous 
earth have considerable economic value, and several companies have been 
formed to work them at Pope's Creek and on the Patuxent. 

The greater portion of the Miocene is composed of sands and clays 
of various colors, mingled with which are frequently vast numbers of 
shells of calcareous organisms. Extensive beds of marl thus formed are 
found outcropping at many points. Sometimes the shelly materials 
form so large a portion of the deposit as to produce almost pure calca- 
reous layers, which, in a partial ly comminuted state may become cemented 
into hard lime-stone ledges. The deposits are at times very carbonaceous 
and dark in color. Near the mouth of the Patuxent River a bed of 
lignite several feet in thickness is exposed at water level. 

From a study of the miocene deposits and fossils of the western 
shore of the Chesapeake, Mr. G. D. Harris*, of the U. S. Geological Survey, 
finds seven clearly defined zones and three distinct faunas, to which he 
has given the following names, beginning with the oldest : 1, the Plum 
Point fauna ; 2, the Jones' Wharf fauna ; 3, the St. Mary's fauna. 

1. The Plum Point fauna is characterized by the presence of Pecten 

Hump7ireysi, Area subrostrata, Byssoarca marylandica, Pectunculus 

parilis, Astarte varians, Astarte exaltata, Crassatella melina, Lucina 

Foremani, Oardium leptopleura, Corbula elevata, Isocardia MarJcoei, 

Venus staminea, Venus latilirata, Pleurotoma marylandica, Pleuro- 

*Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 45, 1893; pp. 21-31. 
6 



82 MARYLAND. 

toma bellacrenata, Soala packypleura, Turritella indenta, Turritella 
exaltata, Solarium trilineatum. 

2. Tlie Jones' Wharf fauna is characterized by the presence of 
Mytiloconcha incurva, Area elevata, Oarditamera producta, Astarte 
obruta, Grassatella turgidula, Mysia acclinis, Gytherea marylandica, 
Mya producta, Panopaea americana, Turritella terebriformis, Gallios- 
toma Wagneri. 

3. The St. Mary's fauna is characterized by the presence of Area 
idonea, Astarte perplana, Venus alveala, Mactra ponderosa, Mactra 
subnasuta, Solen ensiformis, Tebebra simplex, Oonus diluviamis, Pleu- 
rotoma communis, Fusus parilis, Fusus rusticus, Bulliopsis Integra, 
Nassa peralta, Murex acuticostata, Scala expansa, Turritella variabilis. 

The Pliocene [Lafayette). Widely covering the deposits of the 
Coastal Plain hitherto described is a formation composed of gravel, sands 
and clays, which thus far has afforded no fossils in the State of Mary- 
land to indicate its geologic age. ! From the fact that the deposits 
rest unconformably upon the underlying Miocene, and are in turn 
unconformably overlain by the Pleistocene, they have been consid- 
ered to represent the Pliocene. Where they are exposed as a superficial 
covering at the higher levels the strata exhibit much more extensive 
changes than the Pleistocene, so that much time must have elapsed 
after the former were laid down before the deposition of the latter. 
Upon physical grounds then, and not biological, the determination of 
the Pliocene deposits has been based. To Professor W. J. McGee, of the 
U. S. Geological Survey, is due the credit of having first introduced this 
method in the study of the formations of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. 

Before the investigations of Professor McGee, the Pliocene, as an 
independent formation, had not been recognized. The similarity of the 
coarser sediments especially to the shore deposits of the Lower Creta- 
ceous and the Pleistocene did not, in the absence of fossils, admit of their 
discrimination until the methods based on the study of the physical and 
genetic relations of the various beds had been employed. 

The similarity of the deposits in Maryland to those described by 
Professor Hilgard in Mississippi, under the name of the Lafayette forma- 
tion, led to the adoption of the same name for the strata of the Atlantic 
coast. 

The characteristic features of the formation are found fully described 
by Professor McGee in the Twelfth Annual Report of the U. S. Geologi- 
cal Survey. 

The Pliocene has been more fully investigated in the South Atlantic 
and Gulf States than in the North, where it is not known to extend with 
certainty beyond the limits of the Chesapeake area. 



GEOLOGY. S3 

Within the State of Maryland the strata cover the higher levels 
upon the western shore of the Chesapeake, but have not been hitherto 
described from the eastern counties. Toward the ancient coast line, 
bordering the Piedmont Plateau, are deposits of coarse gravel, through 
which is scattered a light colored sandy loam, the whole at times 
cemented by hydrous iron oxide into a more or less compact conglom- 
erate. 

The deposits are very irregularly stratified, and often change rapidly 
within narrow limits. A typical section is described by Darton * from 
Good Hope Hill, east of Washington, where " the high terrace is capped 
for some distance by beds of large pebbles and sand with a buff loam 
matrix." The eastward extension of the formation shows a lessening of 
the coarser elements and a larger admixture of loam. As the distance 
from the coast line increased constantly less and less of the coarser 
materials could be transported. 

Throughout the southern counties the coarser pebbles of the coast 
are largely replaced by sand. The thickness of the deposits is estimated 
to reach about 25 feet in Maryland, which becomes considerably increased 
to the southward. 

The Pleistocene [Columbia). Superficially overlying the other 
deposits of the Coastal Plain is the Pleistocene, which, with marked 
variations in thickness, composition and structure, extends from the 
glacial accumulations of central New Jersey southward through the 
south Atlantic and Gulf States to the Mexican boundary. 

The deposits of the Pleistocene, from their characteristic develop- 
ment in the District of Columbia, have been called the Columbia 
formation by Professor McGee.t Maryland also presents a typical 
representation of Pleistocene strata ; and three distinct phases have been 
recognized. They are as follows : The fluvial phase, the inter fluvial 
phase, and the low-level phase. 

The fluvial phase is found in its fullest development along the 
leading waterways and their larger tributaries. It consists of a lower 
horizon of coarse materials, pebbles and boulders, passing upward into a 
brownish loam that at times becomes orange yellow in color. 

The relative thicknesses of the two divisions varies with their 
distance from the river channels; the gravels with their pebbles and 
boulders being most prominent in close proximity to the ancient water- 
ways, while the loams increase in thickness in passing in either direction 
to a distance from the same. Within the limits of Maryland the fluvial 
phase is found best developed in proximity to the channels of the 
Potomac, Patapsco and Susquehanna Rivers, reaching elevations of 150, 

*Geol. Soc. America, Bull, vol. 3, 1891; p. 445. 

t Report of the Health Officer of the District of Columbia for 1884, '85 and '86; p. 20. 



84 MARYLAND. 

200 and nearly 300 feet in the respective valleys. These deposits are 
evidence of the depression of the continent, relatively to the sea, to the 
heights given. That greater elevation is reached by the deposits north- 
ward shows greater relative depression in that direction. 

Toward the south the fluvial phase becomes much less pronounced, 
the loam gradually giving place to sand and silt, while the coarser 
materials form a much less important element in the series. 

The loam is much employed in Maryland for brick-making, and 
numerous industries have been established in the vicinity of Baltimore. 

The inter -fluvial phase is found typically represented in the country 
which lies between the waterways, and is characterized by materials of 
local origin and produced largely by wave action. The small streams on 
the borders of the plateau country added to the materials of strictly local 
origin, but as a whole the inter-fluvial phase is far less important than 
the fluvial. Over much of the region the deposits are of little thickness, 
and quite disappear in some areas. Frequent gradations into the 
fluvial phase are to be found toward the leading water ways or at 
points where the shore currents had transported materials derived from 
the rivers to a distance from the same. 

To the south of Maryland the inter-fluvial phase becomes more and 
more pronounced, until in the south Atlantic States it greatly surpasses 
the fluvial phase in extent. 

The low-level phase is developed throughout the area that is removed 
from the Pleistocene coast line, and excellent sections of it are found 
along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where it buries to sea-level 
much of the region in the more southern of the Eastern Shore counties. 

The deposits consist of sands, clays and loams, which are often 
clearly stratified, while their fossils show the distinctly marine condi- 
tions surrounding their origin. The fine silts and clays indicate a much 
slower and much less disturbed type of sedimentation than that found 
in either the fluvial or interfluvial phase. The deposits must have been 
scattered as a coating of greater or less thickness over Southern and 
Eastern Maryland and far beyond its present coastal limits. 

Fossils have been found at several localities in the low-level 
deposits, but the most important locality in Maryland is at Cornfield 
Harbor, near the southern point of St. Mary's county. Among the many 
species found the most characteristic are Ostrea virginica, Mytilus 
hamatus, Venus mercenaria, Mya arenaria, Pholas costata and Fulgur 
canaliculatum. 

All the forms are living to-day, some on the neighboring coasts, 
while others are limited to more distant regions. 




SECTION ON ENSOR STREET, BALTIMORE, SHOWING THE LOWER CRETACEOUS OVERLAIN BY PLEISTOCENE. 



85 



resume of Maryland's geological history. 



Before entirely dismissing the subject of Maryland's geology, it 
will be worth while to pass briefly in review what have been the prob- 
able nature and sequence of events in her long history. 

In the earliest days of the earth's existence of which we can take 
definite cognizance, when as yet the oldest strata which contain evidence 
of life had not been laid down, the continent of North America was but 
roughly outlined. There was above the ocean level a great V of crystal- 
line rock, whose apex was at the Adirondack Mountains, in Northern 
New York, while its two arms stretched, one toward Alaska and the 
other through Labrador. Upon this great skeleton the continent has 
since been gradually built up by the accumulation of sediments along 
its borders. But in these early days there were doubtless other con- 
tinental areas above the sea, which furnished the source of much of 
this sedimentary material, but which bave themselves more or less 
completely disappeared. We must draw our knowledge of these old 
masses from the nature of the rocks composing their scanty remains, 
and from their relations to the oldest fossil-bearing strata. 

When we consider the vast thickness of sediments which accumu- 
lated during the whole lapse of Paleozoic time, in the great sea trough 
of what are now the Appalachian Mountains, we are compelled to 
assume a great continental or mountain mass lying along the south- 
eastern edge of the continent and extending out into what is now the 
ocean. What the limits of this mass were toward the east we have no 
means of knowing, but there is no need of assuming that it reached to 
the now abyssal depths of the Atlantic. That it must have been lofty, 
like a great range of mountains, is shown by the rapidity with which it 
furnished coarse sediments to the inland sea which stretched along its 
western edge. The great crystalline plateau, which extends from New 
York to Alabama, along the eastern base of the present mountains, with 
a breadth of 300 miles in the Carolinas, is its worn-down remnant. 

Within Maryland's territory the area which can be referred to this 
old Pre-Cambrian continent is that which has above been described 
as the eastern or holocrystalline part of the Piedmont Plateau. 
Toward the east it has sunk downward, and is now buried beneath the 
Coastal Plain deposits ; toward the west it stretches as the floor to sup- 
port the Paleozoic strata of the Appalachians, reappearing in the granite 
and volcanic rocks of the South Mountain. 

In the earliest times that we can clearly recognize, these ancient 
rocks had already been greatly crumpled, altered and metamorphosed 
by the intrusion of igneous masses, but they furnished a firm floor for 
the inter-continental sea which then occupied the middle of our country. 



86 MARYLAND. 

At our latitude the oldest shore line was somewhere east of the Fred- 
erick Valley, from which westward were spread out the beds of coarse 
sandstone now forming Sugar Loaf, Catoctin and Blue Mountains. After 
this the sea rapidly deepened, as is seen by the different kind of sedi- 
ments deposited (Trenton limestone and Hudson river shales), as well as 
from the fact that the sea itself stretched much farther toward the east. 
This latter fact is attested by the isolated troughs of Hudson river shale 
at Peach Bottom and Quantico, Va., below which little or no Cambrian 
sandstone occurs. 

At the end of the Hudson river epoch occurred the first great moun- 
tain-making movement of Paleozoic times. It marked the termination 
of the lower Silurian period and raised the Green Mountains in New 
England. Although less pronounced toward the south, its influence was 
profoundly felt at least as far as Maryland, where it closely folded and 
metamorphosed the slates and limestones of the western Piedmont 
region. 

After the Green Mountain uplift, the shore-line of the inland sea 
was pushed considerably westward, and it is doubtful whether it ever 
again reached a point east of the Blue Ridge, as this barrier was doubt- 
less raised in part, at least, by the Green Mountain disturbance. Through 
Upper Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous times comparative quiet 
reigned. While subject to continual oscillations, the sea floor was in the 
main sinking, although the high land at its border was so rapidly 
supplying it with sediment, that the shore-line steadily receded west- 
ward. 

During the long lapse of Paleozoic time there was also a growth of 
continental areas in the interior, so that the Appalachian trough was 
being narrowed from both sides. Finally, near the end of this great 
time-division, it had become so nearly filled up that large swamps of 
coal plants flourished, from which the great coal seams of Maryland, 
Pennsylvania and West Virginia have since been formed. At the close 
of the coal period occurred the greatest mountain upheaval that eastern 
America has ever known. The vast trough of sediments, which had 
accumulated to a depth of nearly eight miles, was folded into a series 
of wrinkles so gigantic that the former sea was transformed into a 
lofty mountain chain — at first much higher than it is to-day. 

From its first appearance above the waves this mountain range has 
been continually preyed upon by wind, rain, frost and rivers, until a 
large proportion of its bulk is now stretched out along our coastal plain. 
Its growth was doubtless gradual — at least not the product of a sudden 
revolution — but the end of the coal period may be safely assigned as the 
time of its maximum elevation, thus forming a fitting close to the first 
grand division of life's existence on our planet. 



GEOLOGY. 87 

By the elevation of the Appalachian trough into the Appalachian 
mountain range the sea was fairly crowded out of the interior of our 
continent, at least on its eastern side. Near the close of the first division 
of Mesozoic time, known as the Triassic age, however, extensive estuaries 
existed along the eastern edge of the mountains, and in these a great 
thickness of red sandstone was laid down, cut by and interbedded with 
flows of a basic lava (diabase). This formation, which we call the 
Newark, crosses Maryland in a wide, irregular strip through the Frederick 
valley, and records the earliest deposit which was formed by the washing 
away of the newly-formed mountains. 

At about the close of the Triassic period there was a decided conti- 
nental elevation which continued throughout Jurassic time. The 
continent stood along its eastern border so high that the Jurassic strata 
were doubtless deposited far to the eastward of the coast line of later 
geological epochs, and are buried to-day beneath the entire series of 
Coastal Plain sediments. During all this time the land area of central 
and western Maryland lost greatly as the result of erosion. 

With the opening of the Lower Cretaceous there was a marked 
depression of the continent which brought the sea to and beyond the 
present eastern border of the Piedmont Plateau. Broad reaches of 
shallow and brackish water bordered the coasts, and powerful currents 
distributed the materials brought to the sea by the rivers. At the close 
of the Lower Cretaceous, the continent emerged and the landward 
portion of the sediments that had just been deposited were exposed for 
a time to denudation. 

The streams which were now initiated became, at a much more 
recent date, superimposed upon the underlying crystalline rocks of the 
Piedmont Plateau. They are strikingly at variance with the structural 
and lithological characteristics of those rocks, as is shown by the fact 
that they do not follow the line of the more readily-eroded limestone 
valleys, but suddenly turn from them across the harder materials. But 
submergence followed in the Upper Cretaceous, and in quiet marine 
waters the materials carried from the land were slowly deposited. 

At the close of the Cretaceous period the land was again elevated, and 
the deposits just laid down were cut into by the streams that formed upon 
the new land surface. But the constant oscillations of the continent 
continued bringing at the opening of the Eocene another submergence, 
followed by emergence at its close, while the deposits were laid down 
over the surface of both lower and upper Cretaceous strata. Twice more 
in Tertiary time is there submergence in the coastal area, followed by 
emergence — first during the Neocene, and again in Pliocene time. During 
the latter period the sea encroached far upon the Piedmont plateau, while 
the outlines of the present topography were largely carved out. After the 



88 MARYLAND. 

emergence following the Pliocene the continent became again depressed in 
Pleistocene time, but not to the extent that it had been during the pre- 
vious period. In the emergence that followed, which carried the land 
area considerably higher than at present, the continent was more elevated 
in the north than in the south, as shown by the height of the Pleistocene 
terraces in the valleys of the Potomac, Patapsco and Susquehanna Rivers. 
During this period of emergence the channel of the Chesapeake was 
carved out only to be filled at quite recent date by another submergence. 



CHAPTER IV. 

/ 



MINES AND MINERALS. 



DISTRIBUTION AND GENERAL STATISTICS. 

Before presenting the particulars in regard to each of the more 
important of Maryland's industries which depend on the production of 
mineral substances obtained, either at present or formerly, within the 
borders of the State, it will be advisable to give briefly the general 
facts of importance relating to the nature, distribution and production 
of these substances. 

The minerals of any economic value which are known to exist 
within Maryland's territory, may be divided into three classes : 

1st. Those which are now produced with profit, or which are sus- 
ceptible of future development. In this class may be enumerated — 
Coal. 
Iron ore. 
Gold. 
Building stone : Granite rocks, marble, sandstone, slate and, possibly, 

serpentine. 
Decorative stone: Marble, serpentine and porphyry. 
Limestone, for burning and flux. 
Hydraulic dement. 

Clay : Brick and potter's clay ; fire clay. 
Sand: Building and molding sand. 
Porcelain materials : Flint, feldspar, kaolin. 
Soapstone. 
Mineral water. 

2nd. Mineral products, formerly produced in Maryland, but which 
are not at the present time actively worked. As such may be men- 
tioned — 
Copper ore. 
Chrome ore. 
Ochre, mineral paint. 

Diatomaceous earth (infusorial earth ; tripoli). 
Magnesium carbonate. 
Asbestos, chrysotile. 



90 MARYLAND. 

3d. Minerals known to occur in Maryland, but not in quantities 
sufficient to warrant their production. To this class belong — 
Lead ore (galena). 
Zinc ore (zinc blende). 
Mica. 
Amber. 

Plumbago (graphite, black-lead). 
Manganese. 
Antimony. 

The distribution of Maryland's mineral resources through the State 
may be best followed by reference to the geological map. In the crys- 
talline rocks of the Piedmont Region, between the Monocacy and the 
Chesapeake, we find the most varied, if not the most valuable list. 
Here occur the most important building stones : the slates of Delta and 
Ijamsville ; the granites of Port Deposit, Woodstock and Guilford ; the 
gneiss of Baltimore ; the marble of Cockeysville and Texas ; the sand- 
stone of Deer Creek ; and the serpentine of Broad Creek and Bare Hills. 
In these oldest rocks occur also all the ores of gold, copper, chrome, lead 
and zinc. Much of the best iron ore also belongs here, while all the 
flint, feldspar, kaolin and mica in the State must be sought for in this 
horizon. 

These older or pre-paleozoic rocks again appear in the centre of the 
Blue Bidge, where they make the Middletown valley, and here they 
yield traces of copper, antimony and iron, while some of the red porphy- 
ries occurring a little farther north would appear to be well worthy of 
the attention of architects as decorative stones. 

The long sequence of paleozoic strata which stretches from the Fred- 
erick valley westward across the State, furnishes much good sandstone 
and limestone, two horizons of valuable cement rock, and at its top it 
carries what is now left by man and the eroding agencies of Nature of 
the wonderful Cumberland Coal basin and its 14-foot vein of solid coal. 
This same basin contains also deposits of fire-clay and iron. 

As we trace the sequence of formations through the more recently 
formed portions of the State (post-paleozoic strata of the map), we find 
them not devoid of mineral deposits of economic value. The variegated 
limestone breccia, known as " Potomac Marble," and the best brown sand- 
stone for building purposes found in Maryland, both belong to the oldest 
of these post-paleozoic strata — the triassic belt of the Frederick valley 
and southern Montgomery county. The series of still unconsolidated 
beds which represents the lapse of time from the lower Cretaceous period 
to the present, and which composes all of eastern and southern Maryland, 
besides furnishing valuable lands for various agricultural interests, con- 



MINES AND MINERALS. 91 

tains our principal supply of brick, potter's and fire-clay; of sand, marl 
and diatomaceous earth ; and much of our best iron ore. 

According to the returns of the Eleventh United States Census, the 
mineral production of Maryland during 1889 reached a total of $5,157,687. 
This placed the State twenty-sixth in the list of States of the Union when 
arranged in order of the relative value of their total mineral products. 
The census values for Maryland's products during 1889 are arranged as 
follows : 

Quantity. Value. 

Coal (short tons) 2,939,715 $2,517,474 

Bricks (number) 1,250,000 1,000,000 

Granite (cubic feet) 3,371,032 447,489 

Cement (barrels) . . . . ca. 200,000 180,000 

Limestone 164,860 

Marble (cubic feet) 333,305 139,816 

Slate (squares) ca. 22,000 110,008 

Iron ore 29,380 68,240 

Potter's clay (short tons) 13,870 52,920 

Flint (short tons) 8,632 46,828 

Sandstone (cubic feet) 508,325 10,605 

Ochre (short tons) 616 12,000 

Gold (troy ounces) 501 10,369 

Mineral water (gallons) 74,160 12,057 

Infusorial earth (short tons) 3,050 10,700 

Soapstone (short tons) 432 4,321 

Unspecified 359,300 

The attempt to compile a correspondingly complete table for the 
three succeeding years has not been successful. The data obtained are, 
however, sufficient to show that there has been no very marked change 
in the total production. Coal has increased, while ochre and infusorial 
earth have ceased altogether. Mineral water has shown great fluctua- 
tions, but almost all the other mineral products have remained about the 
same. All the details which it has been possible to obtain concerning 
the various products during 1890, 1891 and 1892, will be given under each 
of the various mineral industries, which it is now proposed to consider in 
succession, somewhat from the standpoint of their history and develop- 
ment. 

COAL.* 

The coal deposits of Maryland belong to that greatest of all the coal 
areas of the United States, the Alleghany field. This is 875 miles long 
and from 30 to 180 broad, covering large portions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. In the 

*See " The Coal Region of America," by jas. McFarlane. Ph. D., 3d Ed., 1875. 



92 MARYLAND. 

northeastern portion of this area the rocks containing the coal have been 
thrown into a series of folds which increase in their sharpness toward 
the east. The increased disturbance has produced a more or less com- 
plete loss of volatile portions of the coal, and the production of varieties 
which are richer in carbon. Three principal types are distinguished. 
Since most of the coal of the Alleghany field lies in rock strata which 
have been but little disturbed, it contains a high proportion of volatile 
gases and less than 70 per cent, of carbon, and is especially valuable for 
the manufacture of coke and gas. This is called bituminous coal. Along 
the northern and eastern edge of the Alleghany field in Pennsylvania, 
Maryland and West Virginia, the coal lies in more disturbed strata and 
contains from 70 to 84 per cent, of carbon. This is known as semi- 
bituminous coal, and is superior to any other for generating steam. In 
Eastern Pennsylvania, where the coal-bearing strata are much more 
disturbed, the amount of carbon exceeds 84 per cent., and the coal is of 
the hard, glistening variety called anthracite. This, on account of its 
cleanliness, is especially fitted for domestic use. 

The only area of semi-bituminous coal in the United States is that 
lying on the northern and eastern sides of the great Alleghany field. 
The productive area in Maryland belongs entirely to it, and represents its 
best development. The Blossburg, Towanda and Broadtop regions of 
Pennsylvania lie in its northern portion, while its southern extension 
composes the Elk Garden and Upper Potomac basins of West Virginia. 
The two other coal basins of Maryland mentioned in the geological 
sketch and shown on the map, are southern prolongations of the great 
bituminous region of Somerset County, Pa., and have never as yet been 
economically developed. 

The single semi-bituminous coal basin of Maryland is of compara- 
tively small size, but constitutes by far the most important of the State's 
mineral resources. It is commonly called the Cumberland basin, and 
sometimes also the Frostburg or George's Creek basin. ' It is situated in 
an elevated trough, just west of the city of Cumberland, between two 
parallel ridges known as Dan's and Savage Mountains. Its leugth is 
about twenty miles, and its breadth from summit to summit four and 
one-half miles. The principal coal bed in the Cumberland basin, known 
as the "Big" or "14-foot Vein," lies near the top of the series, and has 
up to the present time been almost exclusively worked. It once proba- 
bly covered the entire basin, but its extent was greatly reduced by the 
natural processes of erosion before any mining operations were begun. 
In a report made to the Consolidated Coal Company in 1869, Prof. James 
T. Hodge estimated the area covered by the Big Vein when its value was 
first appreciated, as 17,282 acres, or twenty-seven square miles. From 
this nearly sixty-six million tons of coal have now been shipped, which, 



MINES AND MINERALS. 93 

with the wasteful methods of mining, has reduced the area to about 
7,000 acres. 

Although almost all of the Cumberland Coal is now obtained from 
the so-called 14-foot vein, this name is liable to give an erroneous 
impression of the thickness of coal actually available. At the lower 
end of the basin it has this thickness, but it thins somewhat toward the 
north, and there are few mines that can work over ten feet of coal. 
The upper and lower parts of the seam are more or less mixed with thin 
layers of slate, which seriously diminish its value close to the walls. 

In quality the Maryland coal is unsurpassed. It is a true semi- 
bituminous coal, with from 72 to 83 per cent, of carbon. This has been 
proved by numerous experiments to be the coal of maximum efficiency, 
yielding the highest temperature for a definite quantity of combustible.* 
The fine portions of the coal cement in burning to a continuous mass 
making the "hollow fire" so much desired in blacksmithing. The 
greatest value of the Cumberland coal is, however, for generating steam, 
and it is therefore preferred for locomotives, ocean steamers, and in 
manufacturing establishments. It finds a ready market in New York 
Philadelphia, Baltimore and along the entire Atlantic Coast. 

The history of the development of the coal industry in Maryland is 
one of great interest, since, in addition to the wealth it has added to the 
State, it has also been so instrumental in promoting its commercial and 
transportation facilities. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad, in particular, found in the Cumberland coal 
fields a strong stimulus to their construction. 

Scharf, in his History of Maryland, states that coal was first discovered 
in the Cumberland basin in 1804. The earliest report on the coal veins of 
the Cumberland basin was made by the engineers of the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal Company.! 

They are also mentioned in Aiken's account of the geology between 
Baltimore and the Ohio River,J and are described by Alexander and 
Ducatel, in their report to the Governor of Maryland, on the projected 
survey of the State, § dated December, 1833. 

In his annual reports as State geologist for 1836|| and 1840,1 Prof. 
Julius H. Ducatel describes the Cumberland or Frostburg coal region, and 
considers the best means of developing it. In 1837 Prof. Philip T. Tyson 
also published an account of the geological position of the same region.** 

*Walter R. Johnson, Report on the Relative Efficiency of Different Coals. Government Printing- 
office, 1844. 

t Collection of Reports and Letters of the Engineers of the C. & O. Canal Company. 

% American Journal of Science, 1st series, vol. 26, p. 219, 1834. 

§ Ibid., vol. 27, p. 28, 1835. 

II Description of the Frostburg Coalfield An. Rep. for 1836, pp. 48-56. 

IMineral Wealth of Allegany County, and considerations on the best means of developing it. An. 
Rep. for 1840, pp. 21-36. 

**Trans. Md. Acad, of Science and Literature, Vol. I, 1837. 



94 MARYLAND. 

Meantime many reports were made by experts to various companies 
wlricli had secured coal lands in this basin and which were desirous of 
developing them so soon as transportation facilities were available. 

The George's Creek Coal and Iron Co. was incorporated April 4, 1836, 
by J. H. Alexander and P. T. Tyson, and in the same year published an 
elaborate report containing their charter and a description of their 
property situated just north of Lonaconing, with maps and sections. A 
second report appeared in 1839. 

Since its first inception this oldest of the Maryland coal companies 
has maintained its independence and still continues a prosperous exist- 
ence. Its present president, Mr. J. J. Alexander, is a son of its originator, 
and assumed office in 1887, exactly half a century after the organization 
of the company. This company now owns 16,000 acres of land, and has 
two principal mines, known as the "Dug Hill" and "Pine Hill." It is 
now developing the coal of the seams below the " big vein." It has a 
plant of highly improved machinery and a possible output of 2,500 tons 
per diem. An illustrated account of this company's property and work 
appeared in the Cumberland Daily News of October 7, 1892. 

Not long after the organization of the George's Creek Company, 
the Maryland Mining Company was started with lands east of 
Frostburg containing the Eckhart Mines. G. W. Hughes made a report 
on this property in 1836, and Prof. Benjamin Sillirnan, of Yale College, 
another in 1838. This company constructed a railroad from its mines 
along Braddock's Run to Cumberland in 1846, and was finally merged 
into the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company. This became one of the 
largest coal companies of the Cumberland basin, and with a capital of 
$5,000,000, united with the Consolidated Coal Company in 1870. 

About 1839, the Maryland and New Yorlc Coal and Iron Company 
was chartered, having property near Mt. Savage. This afterward became 
the Mt. Savage Iron and Coal Company, which constructed the 
first railroad from the Cumberland basin to Cumberland in 1844. In 
1864 the Consolidated Coal Company was formed by the union of this 
Mt. Savage Iron Company, the Frostburg Coal Company and what were 
known as the Aspinwall and Cunard Coal lands. A. J. Center was its 
first president. Its union in 1870 with the Cumberland Coal and 
Iron Company, made it the largest coal company in Maryland. 

In 1837 the Boston and New Yorlc Coal Company was chartered, 
but the coal on their property was found to be in so disturbed and 
irregular a position that it has never been developed. Between 1836 and 
1840, Duff Green organized several companies, the Union (1836), Potomac 
and Allegany (1839) and Union Potomac (1840), which, however, never 
became important. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 95 

The Franklin Goal Company, which first shipped coal in 1853, 
united in 1880 with the Phcenix Mining and Manufacturing Company 
(formerly the Preston Coal and Iron Company, 1855), to form the Mary- 
land Union Coal Company, and this was again reorganized in 1890 as the 
Franklin Consolidated Coal Company. 

The Black, Sheridan and "Wilson Company (incorporated 1891), of 
Baltimore, now control the Potomac Coal Company (chartered 1863), the 
Union Mining Company (formed in 1870, from the Mount Savage Fire- 
brick and Iron Company (1840) and the Union Mine), and the Barton and 
George's Creek Valley Coal Company, started in 1887. 

Beside these important corporations, which have their headquarters 
at Baltimore, four of the great coal companies of the Cumberland basin 
have their principal offices in New York. These are the American, Mary- 
land and New Central Coal Company and the Borden Mining Company. 
The first of these was organized in 1857, with the properties of the 
original Parker Vein Company and the Jackson Mine. The Maryland 
Company was formed in 1870 with the property of the old Central Coal 
Mining and Manufacturing Company. The Borden Mining Company was 
started in 1848 with the old Clifton Property, near Frostburg; while the 
New Central Coal Company was organized at a later date. 

Tlie Hampshire and Baltimore Coal Company, with mines at the 
south end of the Cumberland basin, and also on the opposite side of the 
Potomac, was, at one time, a large producer. These mines were prac- 
tically exhausted in March, 1884, when their shipment ceased. 

In his annual report for the year ending December 31, 1891, to the 
Governor of Maryland, F. J. McMahon, Inspector of Mines for Allegany 
and Garrett counties, states that the social and economic conditions of the 
Maryland coal fields are highly satisfactory. He says : 

" It is gratifying to be able to say that our region is second to none, 
and taken as a whole, our miners are as thrifty and intelligent a class of 
workmen as can be found in any coal region in the world. They earn- 
estly endeavor to comfortably maintain their families and give to their 
children the benefit of that system of education which the State so lib- 
erally provides. It is also a noticeable fact that more literature finds its 
way into the hands of the miners of this region than hi any other coal 
field in the country, and they are well contented, and perfect harmony 
exists between them and their employers. 

" The shipments of coal from this region for the year ending Decem- 
ber 31, 1892, was three million sixty-three thousand nine hundred and 
nine tons, a decrease of three hundred and fifty-six thousand eight hun- 
dred and fifty tons as compared with the corresponding period of 1891. 
This decrease is said to be due to the desire of our companies to avoid 
competing with the low prices made early in the year by other companies 



96 MARYLAND. 

outside of this region. It must be remembered that our coal is the 
highest quality of any shipped to the seaboard, therefore oiu* operators 
have a standard price on their coal, and it would be doing an injustice 
not only to themselves, but to their employes if they sold at a figure 
less than that received at the present time, as they pay their miners at 
the rate of fifty cents per ton. 

" This decrease is also explained by some of our shippers as due to 
the lack of motive power and cars to ship our coal. Again it is said the 
cars are detained at the seaboard owing to the scarcity of vessels, and as 
far as can be ascertained the latter explanation is the more correct one." 

The location of all the coal mines now in active operation in Mary- 
land are given in this report as follows : 
Frostbueg Region — (North end of Cumberland Basin) Consolidation 

Coal Company. 

1. Allegany Mine, two miles northeast of Frostburg, on the C. & P. 
Railroad. 

2. Eckhart Mine, east of Frostburg, on the Eckhart Branch C. & P. 
Railroad. 

3. Hoffman Mine, two and a-half miles southeast of Frostburg, on 
the Eckhart Branch C. & P. Railroad. 

4. Old Consolidation Mine, one mile west of Frostburg, operated 
for local use. 

5. New Shaft, two miles south of Frostburg, on the C. & P. Railroad. 

6. Ocean Mine, four and a-half miles southwest of Frostburg, on 
the C. & P. Railroad. 

Borden Mining Company. 

1. Borden Mine, two and a-quarter miles west of Frostburg, on a 
branch of the C. & P. Railroad. 
Barton and George's Creek Valley Coal Company. 

1. New Mine and Carlos, 3 \ miles west of Frostburg on a branch of 
C. & P. R. R. 
Union Mining Company. 

1. Union Mine, | mile northeast of Frostburg, on the C. & P. R. R. 
Big Vein Coal Company. 

1. Big Vein Mine, 2 miles west of Frostburg, on the C. & P. R. R. 
Anthony Coal Company. 

1. Mine | mile north of Frostburg, on the C. & P. R. R. 
Lonaconing Region. (Middle of Cumberland Basin.) 
Maryland Coal Company. 

1. Appleton Mine, 1J miles northwest of Lonaconing, on the G. C. 
& C. R. R. 

2. Kingsland Mine, west of Lonaconing. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 



97 



3. New Detmold and Pattend, 1 mile west of Lonaconing, on the 
G. C. & C. R. R. 
The George's Greek Coal and Iron Company. 

1. Pine Hill Mine, 2 miles northeast of Lonaconing, on C. & P. R. R. 

2. Buck Hill and Cutter Mines, 1J miles north of Lonaconing, on 
the C. & P. R. R. 

3. Dug Hill Mine, east of Lonaconing, on the C. & P. R. R. 
The New Central Coal Company. 

1. Koontz Mine, 2J miles north of Lonaconing, on G. C. & C. R. R. 
The American Coal Company. 

1. Jackson Mine, with six openings, one mile south of Lonaconing, 
on the G. C. & C. R. R. 

2. Caledonia Mine, with two openings, west side of Barton. 
The Barton-Piedmont Region (South end of the Cumberland Basin). 

The Potomac Coal Company. 

1. Potomac Mine, with three openings, one mile east of Barton, on 
the C. &. R. R. 
The Swanton Mining Company. 

1. Swanton Mine, west side of Barton, on the C. & P. R. R. 
The Franklin Consolidated Coal Company. 

1. Phcenix Mine, two miles west of Barton, on the C. & P. R. R. 

2. Franklin Mine, with four openings, one mile north of Western- 
port. 

The Piedmont and Cumberland Coal Company. 

1. Mine, with two openings, \ mile east of Westernport, on the 
C. & P. R. R. 
G. C. Patterson's Mine, f mile west of Bloomington, on the B. & 

O. R. R. works, a four-foot vein. 
The total production of the Maryland coal mines during 1892 and 
its comparison with that of 1891, is given in the following table : 



Name of Company ok Mine. 



Consolidation Coal Company 

American Coal Company 

George's Creek Coal and Iron Company 

Maryland Coal Company 

Borden Mining Company 

Barton and George's Creek Valley Coal Company 

New Central Coal Company 

Union Mine 

Potomac Coal Company 

Franklin Consolidated Coal Company 

Big Vein Coal Company ( Maryland) 

Piedmont-Cumberland Coal Company 

Anthony Mining Company 

Swanton Mining Company 



Compared with 1891. 



4,152! 

T,43S 



67,437 
56,293 
130,248 
44,703 



5,385 
2.028 
44,20'.) 
4,152 

28.941 

27'326 



No. or Men 
Employed. 



1,130 
390 
426 
401 
300 
279 
265 
225 
769 
125 
100 



98 



MARYLAND. 



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100 MARYLAND. 

The development of the Cumberland Coal basin is most closely con- 
nected with the extension of transportation facilities from the seaboard 
at Baltimore and Washington to this region. The National Road was 
opened between Cumberland and Frostburg about 1836. The Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal had been chartered in 1825, and the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad Company in 1827. There was much rivalry between these cor- 
porations, as they were to pursue the same routes. The railroad was the 
first to reach Cumberland, being opened to that place November 5th, 
1842, although it did not reach Piedmont until 1851. Coal was at first 
hauled by wagon from Mt. Savage to Cumberland, but in 1844 the Mt. 
Savage railroad was constructed along Jennings Run. This road was 
subsequently extended to Frostburg in 1850, and to Lonaconing in 1857, 
to connect with the road which the George's Creek Coal and Iron Com- 
pany had constructed from Westernport (Piedmont) to that place in 1854. 
This entire line from Westernport to Cumberland came into possession 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1872, and is now known as the 
"Cumberland and Pennsylvania." In 1846 the Maryland Mining Com- 
pany constructed a road from Cumberland to their Eckhart Mines, east 
of Frostburg, along Braddock's Run. This subsequently became the 
Cumberland Coal and Iron Company's road, when the Maryland Mining 
Company was merged into this corporation. 

The first shipments of coal were made over the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal, when this was completed to Cumberland, in 1850. 

The George's Creek Coal and Iron Company constructed a road from 
Lonaconing to Cumberland in 1880 along Braddock's Run and begun the 
shipment of coal by it in 1881. 

THE IRON INDUSTRY. 

In reviewing the history of iron manufacture in Maryland we are 
forced to recognize the fact that we are dealing with an ancien regime. 
The places which once knew the furnaces, forges and rolling-mills in 
Maryland will probably know them no more. The conditions have so 
changed that their day of usefulness has passed, and we are on the 
threshold of a new order of things. 

The substitution of steel for the higher grades of iron in many 
forms, the discovery of extensive deposits of rich ores in other sections 
of our country, particularly in Michigan, Minnesota and the Southern 
States, coupled with the wonderful extension and cheapening of trans- 
portation, have resulted, within the past few years, in such improvements 
in the methods of producing iron and steel and in cheapening their cost, 
as have driven out the charcoal furnace and bloomary, and, under the 
principal of the survival of the fittest, have left no place for the lean ores 
of Maryland and the antiquated methods of other days. Present indica- 



MINES AND MINERALS. 101 

tions all warrant the belief that we have entered upon an era when 
extensive plants, operated by aggregated capital, and looking for their 
supplies to other ore fields than those of Maryland, will take the places 
of their more numerous and modest predecessors and far outstrip them 
in the amount and value of their output. 

The iron industry of Maryland was developed early in colonial 
days, and continued, until a recent date, to be an important factor in 
the prosperity of the State. The history of its growth presents an inter- 
esting picture of the gradual unfolding of the mineral resources of the 
State. The comparatively short period which has elapsed since the 
cumbersome water-wheel furnace and forge gave place to such furnaces 
and mills as those of the Maryland Steel Company at Sparrow's Point, 
and since the old four-horse wagon with its dusky teamster found a 
substitute in the latest type of modern locomotive, covers the period 
of the greatest development in material prosperity witnessed by this or 
any other community. 

Beside her many natural advantages of climate, soil, minerals, water- 
ways and forests, Maryland early experienced the benefit of having, 
among her colonists, many enterprising and industrious folk, drawn 
largely from the British Isles, who, immediately upon their arrival, 
turned their attention to the advancement of the natural resources with 
which they were surrounded. The settlement of the province was made 
in 1634, and, as early as 1718, we have the record of 3 tons 7 cwt. of bar 
iron being sent to England, upon which a duty of .£6 19s. Id. was levied. 
An Act of the General Assembly, passed in 1719, for the encouragement 
of iron manufacture, sets forth : " That there are very great conveniences 
for the carrying on of iron works within this Province, which have not 
hitherto been embraced for want of proper encouragement to some first- 
class undertakers." In 1840, Alexander, in his report on the manufacture 
of iron, addressed to the Governor of Maryland, says that Maryland had 
no iron industry but a bloomary or two until 1724. That iron for com- 
mercial purposes was produced to some extent before this date, is evi- 
denced by the passage of an act in 1681, imposing a duty on the export 
of iron. In 1648, mention is made of the fact that pig iron was then 
worth £12 per ton, and that the facility with which iron could be mined, 
and the cheapness with which fuel could be obtained on the numerous 
watercourses, enabled those engaged in its manufacture to earn high 
wages. This fact doubtless attracted many to the shores of the Patapsco, 
stimulated, speculation in lands and exercised some influence upon the 
location of the future City of Baltimore. Beds of carbonate and oxide 
ores extend from the vicinity of Washington, in a north-easterly direc- 
tion across the State, being found in the counties of Prince George, 
Howard, Baltimore, Harford and Cecil ; and it was within this ore belt 



102 MARYLAND. 

that the furnaces and forges of colonial days were located. These lean 
ores, noted for the purity of the iron they produced, have, until a recent 
date, been extensively used in the manufacture of high grade charcoal 
pig iron, employed in making car wheels and malleable castings. John- 
son, in his history of Cecil county, says : " The first iron works in Mary- 
land were probably erected in Cecil county, at the head of the Chesapeake 
Bay. In a deed dated 1716, in which Eobert Dutton conveys lands on 
the Main Falls, the North East Iron Works are mentioned among the 
appurtenances." Swank, in his history of the " Manufacture of Iron in all 
Ages," gives much valuable and accurate information concerning the early 
iron works of Maryland, and especially of the Principio Company. This 
treatise has been largely used in the preparation of this section. 

About the time of the passage of the Act of 1719, before alluded to, 
Joseph Farmer, an ironmaster of England, came to Maryland on behalf 
of himself and others, and in 1722 organized the Principio Company and 
commenced the erection of a furnace in Cecil County, near the mouth of 
Principio Creek, which empties into the Chesapeake Bay, sis miles from 
the town of North East. Alexander says that a part of the hearth of 
this old furnace was still standing in 1840. This company was composed 
of English gentlemen of wealth, and familiar with iron manufacture in 
the old country. At an early date in the history of this enterprise, 
probably in 1725, Augustine and Lawrence Washington, of Virginia, the 
father and half brother of the future President of the United States, 
became interested in this company. This concern soon outranked all 
others in America in the manufacture of pig and bar iron, being the 
proprietor of three furnaces and two forges in Maryland, and of the 
Accokeek furnace in Virginia. The original works built at Principio and 
at North East, in Cecil County, on the line of the Philadelphia, Wilming- 
ton and Baltimore Railroad, are still producing iron, after having passed 
through many vicissitudes and into the hands of many owners. The 
old stone stack has given way to a first-class modern furnace, complete 
in all its appointments, and the old forge, to a rolling mill containing all 
the effective and labor-saving appliances of modern skill. Beside these 
two properties, the Principio Company built the Kingsbury Furnace in 
1744, on Herring Run, at the head of Back River, and in 1751, purchased 
from Doctor Charles Carroll, of Annapolis, the Lancashire furnace, 
located near the Kingsbury, both in Baltimore County. In 1761, the 
Governor and Council of Maryland reported to the Commissioners of 
the Board of Trade and Plantations in England, that there were eighteen 
furnaces and ten forges in that State, which made 2,500 tons of pig iron 
per year. 

On the breaking out of the Revolutionary War in 1776, the Principio 
Company had no actual control over any of its American property, 



MINES AND MINERALS. 103 

although Thomas Russell operated the furnaces and forges and supplied 
bar iron and cannon halls to the Continental Army. In 1780, the General 
Assembly of Maryland passed an act to seize and confiscate all British 
property within the State, and all the property of the Principio Com- 
pany, with two exceptions, was sold. The works at North East were 
retained by Thomas Russell, who had cast in his fortune with the patriotic 
cause, and for a like cause the interest of the Washingtons could not be 
confiscated. At this time one of the "Washingtons, probably the son of 
George Washington's half-brother Augustine, owned a one-twelfth inter- 
est in the Principio Company. 

The Principio Furnace was purchased by Samuel Hughes and others, 
who, during the war of 1812, manufactured cannon, cannon-balls and 
hardware. Guns as large as thirty-two pounders were made for the gov- 
ernment, some of them hauled as far as Pittsburgh by teams. An expe- 
dition from Cockburn's fleet, toward the close of the war, destroyed 
these works and spiked and otherwise rendered the guns on hand unfit 
for service. About forty years ago a whole pig of iron was found near 
the site of the first Principio furnace, plainly stamped "Principio, 1727." 
Over twenty years ago several pigs of iron stamped "Principio, 1750," 
were discovered in the bed of the Patapsco River. Mr. Henry Whiteley 
not long since published a very interesting historical essay on the Prin- 
cipio Company. Mr. John English, who died in 1734, came out from 
England in the interest of this company as its manager. He built the 
first furnace and forge in Maryland, and was one of the most intelligent, 
enterprising and successful of American iron manufacturers. His corres- 
pondence with the home company is still in existence, preserved by the 
Maryland Historical Society. In 1836 the Principio Furnace was sold 
under foreclosure to its present owners, the Messrs. Whittaker, and the 
forge at North East, after many changes and transfers, became the prop- 
erty of the present McCullough Iron Company. 

Thomas Russell, a grandson of the original person of that name 
interested in the Principio Company, built a furnace in 1802 at North 
East, which was in operation only a few years. 

The Baltimore Company, which was incorporated in 1723, built a fur- 
nace at the mouth of Gwynn's Falls the same year, on lands belonging 
to John Moale. This was the second blast furnace built in Maryland. 
In 1765 a one-fifth interest in this property was sold for $5,200. Bishop 
says that during the revolutionary war there were seventeen or eighteen 
forges in operation in Maryland, in addition to furnaces and other iron 
works, showing to what extent the development had taken place in 
colonial days. These furnaces and forges were built mostly on tribu- 
taries of the Chesapeake Bay. They were all of the same type, using 



104 MARYLAND. 

charcoal for fuel with cold blast and applying the power to the blow 
cylinders by waterwheels. 

The life of an ironmaster in these early days, when the conveniences 
of travel were few and local events claimed a much greater share of 
attention than at present, when the newspaper was rarely seen, if seen at 
all, and daily life in the country was limited to the immediate surround- 
ings, was not entirely devoid of interest and of a certain charm. The 
vicinity of the furnace or forge (they were generally located together), 
was always the scene of activity and bustle, the store and post-office were 
generally an appendage of the iron works and the rendezvous of all the 
gossips and politicians of the neighborhood. 

The Bush Furnace, in Harford county, was built about 1760. It 
was owned in 1776 by John Lee Webster and operated in 1850 by Richard 
Green, who died in 1861, when Wm. F. Pannell became the owner and 
changed the name to the Harford Furnace. Pannell carried on business 
successfully until 1870, when he sold the property to Clement Dietrich 
of Cincinnati, who added a large factory for the manufacture of pyro- 
ligneous acid. Dietrich's operations were very disastrous, involving the 
loss of several hundred thousand dollars. The property has since gone 
to ruin. The ores were obtained from the neighborhood or brought 
from Baltimore county. 

In 1769 Zaccheus Onion operated a furnace and forge built by his 
grandfather, about one mile from the town of Joppa, then one of the 
most important places in Maryland; and in 1762 Robert Evans and others 
built the Unicorn Forge, in Queen Anne's county, near the town of 
Maysbury. 

In 1768 the Hockly Forge, on the Patapsco, was owned by Robert 
Croxall, and in 1774 was operated by the Baltimore Company, with Wm. 
Hammond as manager. 

The remains of a furnace, forge and puddling mill built in colonial 
days is still to be seen on the Mt. Peru estate, near Jericho, on the Little 
Gunpowder Falls. Whittaker's Furnace, near the Gunpowder, was built 
in 1810, and used as a shovel factory. It was subsequently purchased 
by Horace Abbott, who converted it into a forge for making shafts for 
steamboats. 

In early days John Ridgely built two furnaces, one known as the 
Nottingham, on White Marsh Run, which was permanently out of blast 
in 1815. The second, on the Great Gunpowder, produced small cannon 
and swivel in 1776. This property was purchased by the City of Balti- 
more for the Gunpowder water supply. Ridgely also built a furnace 
north of Towson, near the Pott Spring estate, which was in operation 
until about 1850. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 105 

The Joppa Iron Works, built by J. W. & E. B Patterson, were in 
their day one of the most extensive in Maryland. Situated at the head 
of the Big Gunpowder, they were in successful operation up to the time 
of the civil war. They consisted of a large rolling mill, nail factory and 
a forge, and produced large quantities of bar iron and nails, enjoying a 
great reputation in the market. The ruins of these works are still 
standing. 

In 1800 the Dorseys built the Avalon Works on the Falls of the 
Patapsco. These extensive works were operated by Evan T. Ellicott & 
Company for a number of years, and sold in 1850 to John McCrone & Co., 
who afterwards sold them to J. H. Hand. In 1848 rails were made for 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company at these works. The mills 
produced all descriptions of merchant iron — sheets, hoops and nails. 
The Ellicotts had a large warehouse at the corner of Light and Balder- 
ston streets, where the product of these works was stored and sold. 
They were operated with varying success until July, 1868, when a cloud- 
burst caused a most disastrous flood in the Patapsco valley, sweeping 
away mills and dams, with great loss of life and property. The Avalon 
Works, which had just been remodeled and provided with new 
machinery, were in full operation. The operatives barely escaped 
with their lives. The works were never rebuilt. 

Edward Dorsey owned a furnace and forge at Elk Ridge Landing on 
the Patapsco. In 1835 Messrs. Ellicott & Bro. made cast iron water pipe 
at this furnace for the Croton Water Works of New York. The furnace 
was rebuilt in 1855, but has been out of blast since 1874. 

Early in the present century Thomas and Richard Snowden owned 
the Patuxent Furnace and Forge in Prince George's county. They sold 
the property to Evan T. Ellicott & Company, who built an additional 
furnace and rolling mill for making muck bars for the Avalon Works. 
These works were last operated by Messrs. Lemmon & Glenn, and have 
long since been abandoned. 

In 1802 Thomas Russell and Daniel Sheredine built a furnace at 
North East, which only remained in blast until 1806. The Marley 
Furnace, built by William Goodwin and Edward Dorsey on an arm of 
Curtis Bay, mentioned in 1781 as the Curtis Creek Furnace, was in opera- 
tion as late as 1851, when it was finally abandoned. Its picturesque 
remains are still to be seen. 

In 1810 a rolling mill was built on the Big Elk, Cecil county, about 
five miles north of Elkton. It was operated for several years by Parke 
Brothers, producing boiler plate iron from blooms and muck bars. The 
firm of Parke, Smith & Company succeeded to the business in 1858 and 
altered the mill into a sheet mill. The concern was driven out of the 
business by the active competition of mills more favorably located. 



106 MAETLAKD. 

In Frederick County were several early enterprises, the particulars 
of which have been presented by Alexander. Old Hampton Furnace on 
Thorn's Creek, two miles west of Ernmittsburg, was built in 1770. Legh 
Furnace, at the head of Little Pipe Creek in Carroll County, near West- 
minster, was built about the same time ; both were soon abandoned. 

In 1774 James Johnson & Company built the Catoctin Furnace in 
Frederick County, and produced pig iron from neighboring ores and 
charcoal. It was rebuilt in 1787 nearer the ore banks on Hunting Creek. 
These works furnished guns and projectiles to the Continental Army. 
These same parties built the Bush Creek Forge with a rolling and slit- 
ting mill; abandoned in 1810. 

In 1793 Thomas and Baker Johnson became the owners of Catoctin 
Furnace, and Baker Johnson sole owner in 1803. From 1811 to 1822, this 
property was operated by Willoughby and Thomas Mayberry, when it 
was sold to John McPherson Brien and John McPherson, who in 1843 
sold to Peregrine Fitzhugh. This latter owner, under different co-part- 
nerships, manufactured iron until 1857, when becoming embarrassed, 
the property fell into the hands of John Kunkle, who willed it to his 
sons John B. and Jacob M. Kunkle, and in 1866, John B. became sole 
owner. During the decade 1860 to 1870, covering the period of the civil 
war, these works enjoyed a period of great prosperity, and large addi- 
tions were made to the landed estate. The ore banks were extensively 
opened, and in 1882 an anthracite stack was built, 12x44 feet, 6,000 tons 
capacity. The ores used were brown hematite and magnetite. Financial 
disaster, which seems to have pursued this concern for over a century, 
again overtook it, and at Colonel Kunkle's death in 1885, his estate 
being heavily embarrassed, this property was sold to meet the demands 
of his creditors. His heirs formed a joint stock company and operated 
the furnace for a short time, but meeting with no success, sold the works 
to the present owners, "The Catoctin Iron Company, of Frederick 
County." For reasons stated hereafter, it is doubtful if the manufac- 
ture of iron will ever be resumed at Catoctin, although it is possible 
the extensive ore banks may be worked to supply furnaces more favor- 
ably located. 

In 1787 the Johnson Furnace was built on a small stream a mile 
above the mouth of the Monocacy, and in 1783 Roger Johnson built a 
forge on Big Bennett's Creek, which he called Bloomsbury, which was 
abandoned in 1880. 

The Fulderia Furnace, about three miles south of Frederick, built 
soon after the Revolution, made only one blast. 

Alexander mentions a number of iron works in early days in Wash- 
ington County. The earliest and most successful was the Mount Etna 
Furnace, on a branch of the Antietam near Hagerstown, built by Samuel 



MINES AND MINERALS. 107 

and Daniel Hughes, in 1770. This concern was in successful operation 
for many years, and cast the first Maryland cannon during the war of 
the revolution. The same parties built a forge about a mile and a-half 
below the furnace. 

In 1775 Henderson & Ross built a furnace at the mouth of the Antie- 
tam. It was rebuilt and operated in 1845 by McPherson & Brien, pro- 
ducing pig-iron and blooms. After the civil war P. A. Ahl & Bro. 
restored the furnace and produced pig-iron from coke for a few years, 
but it is now abandoned. 

In 1770 James Johnson built the Green Spring Furnace and also a 
forge near Licking Creek. 

The development of iron ores belonging to the coal measures of 
Western Maryland was undertaken over sixty years ago. In 1828 a 
furnace and forges were built on Bear Creek and abandoned in 1834. In 
1837 a furnace was built at Lonaconing for the George's Creek Coal and 
Iron Company, using coke. Owens says that this was at the time the 
most successful coke furnace in the United States. About the same time 
the Wellburgh Furnace was built, but was never a financial'success. 

In 1840 two large furnaces were built by the Mt. Savage Iron Com- 
pany nine miles northwest of Cumberland. The Mt. Savage Rolling Mill, 
built in 1843, rolled the first heavy rail made in the United States. 
This was of the inverted U pattern, and the Vulcan Furnace, eight miles 
below Cumberland, had a short and unsuccessful career. In 1846 the 
Lena Furnace was built at Cumberland, first using coke, and afterwards 
charcoal. The Bowery Furnace, built at Frostburg by the Cumberland 
Coal and Iron Company, in 1868, was rebuilt in 1873, and remained in 
blast several years ; it has since been abandoned. 

The Lonaconing Furnace, built at Knoxville in 1837, went finally 
out of blast in 1874. 

The Canton Forge, located at Canton, was operated by Peter 
Cooper in 1828-1829. He sold the property in 1836 to Horace Abbott, 
who carried on business there for some years with a partner named 
Lawrence, making a great reputation for heavy forgings for steam- 
boat work and large machinery. In 1851 Mr. Abbott commenced 
the manufacture of plates in a modest way, gradually extending and 
enlarging his works, till in 1856, they consisted of two large plate mills 
capable of making a large output of boiler and plate iron. His son-in- 
law, Mr. John S. Gilman, joined him, and under the firm name of H. 
Abbott & Son, they did a prosperous business. In 1859 the third large 
plate mill was erected, which, after the breaking out of the war in 1861, 
was utilized almost exclusively in the manufacture of armor-plates for 
government vessels. The armor of the Ericsson monitor was made at 
these works. The business was carried on till 1865, when H. Abbott & 



108 MARYLAND. 

Son sold the property to an association of capitalists, who were incor- 
porated under the title of "The Abbott Iron Company," with Mr. 
Horace Abbott as President, and John S. Gilman, Treasurer, with a 
capital of $500,000. In 1865 a rail mill was erected and the company's 
business greatly enlarged. After some years the gradual substitution of 
steel and iron having made serious inroads on the business of the com- 
pany, as it was not prepared to manufacture steel, and the price of steel 
rails having declined as low as the cost of making muck bars, the com- 
pany closed their business in 1878-'9. 

Andrew Ellicott built, in 1842, a furnace and muck bar mill on 
Locust Point, which were abandoned in 1850. The first successful hot 
blast stove erected in the United States was built here. Edward Grubb, 
father of the late Minister to Spain, went to England and, in order to 
get an opportunity to inspect the stove then in use, donned a working 
man's clothes and hired as a filler. In this way he succeeded in obtaining 
plans, and upon his return to America had the castings made at York, 
Pa., intending to erect the ovens at the Codorus Furnace ; but Mr. Ellicott 
purchased the castings, and, sending his manager with six mule teams to 
York, hauled the castings to Locust Point. This f nrnace made a good 
quality of cast steel in brick ovens — the first made in Maryland. 

J. H. & B. H. Ellicott carried on in Baltimore the City Block Bar 
Mill near the draw-bridge, -from 1840 to 1855, and Trego, Thompson & 
Company started a forge, at the foot of Caroline street, in 1853. In 1856 
this was enlarged into a steam forge and rolling mill, with a capacity 
of about 75 tons of finished iron per week. They also made hammered 
railroad axles and steamboat shafting. They suspended operations in 
1876. 

In 1843 Peter Morrell and Mr. Numsen built the first Cedar Point 
furnace at Canton ; number two was built in 1846. These were charcoal 
furnaces, 8 feet bosh by 30 feet high. They were sold in 1863 to Horace 
L. Brooke, who subsequently sold the property to the Philadelphia, 
Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company for coal docks. 

The Muirkirk Furnace, named after a furnace in Scotland, was built 
in 1847 by the Ellicotts. It was the first charcoal furnace in the country 
to use a hot blast in the top of the stack, and to take the gas to make 
steam. In 1855 W. C. Coffin & Company, of Boston, leased it to George 
Gary, of Baltimore, but in 1860 operated it themselves. In 1863 it came 
into the possession of its present owner, Mr. Charles E. Coffin. It is still 
in operation, the only survivor of the rural charcoal furnaces in the 
State. The iron has been principally used by the Government, it being 
guaranteed to stand 30,000 pounds to the square inch in the pig, many 
tests giving 40,000 pounds. The ore is obtained from the neighborhood, 
the flux used being oyster shells obtained in Baltimore. The excellent 



MINES AND MINERALS. 109 

quality of the iron accounts for the furnace being still in operation, 
successfully competing with the cheap charcoal irons of the west and 
south. 

The first Ashland furnace, near Cockeysville, in Baltimore County, 
was built in 1837 by Christopher Geiger, who afterwards disposed of it 
to Philip A. and Samuel Small, of York, Pa., and Joseph W. and Edward 
Patterson, of Baltimore, who operated it under the firm name of Patter- 
son, Small & Co. The second stack was erected in 1848. The fuel used 
was anthracite coal and hematite ores. The ores were largely from the 
Oregon Ore Bank, three miles distant. Oregon Furnace was built in 
1849 by Richard Green, of Harford County, Md., at Oregon, contiguous to 
the ore bank leased by him from Miss Charlotte C. D. Owings, which 
adjoined that held by Patterson, Small & Co. This was the chief ore 
used at this point for the manufacture of pig iron. The fuel was anthra- 
cite coal, which was hauled from Cockeysville, Md. Difficulty having 
arisen between Patterson, Small & Co. and Mr. Green, in reference to 
priority and right of ore leases under Miss Owings, which culminated in 
armed resistance as well as in expensive litigation, a consolidation of 
interest was agreed upon, and the Ashland Iron Company incorporated, 
Mr. Green being appointed manager, and remained such until his death 
in 1861. Oregon furnace was run but a few years, as pig iron could 
be made more economically at Ashland. This iron was made mostly 
from hematite ores obtained from Oregon and Timonium, in Baltimore 
county; from Green Spring Valley; from Hanover, Pa., etc., and 
magnetic ore, from near Whitehall, was also used. The weekly product 
was from 150 to 200 tons of foundry and forge pig iron of excellent 
quality. The fuel used was anthracite coal. Limestone was obtained 
from their quarry in York, Pa., and from Texas, in Baltimore county. 
A third furnace was erected at Ashland in 1864. 

The Elba charcoal furnace near Sykesville, Carroll county, built in 
1848 by Griffiths, Cate & Belknap, was bought by Isaac Tyson, Jr., in 
1849. The ore was mainly supplied from a fissure vein extending as far 
as Finksburg, on the Western Maryland Railroad, and was mixed with 
ores from the neighborhood of Baltimore, and with hematite from near 
Mount Airy. The iron was used principally for car wheels. The 
furnace was blown out in 1868, just before the great flood of that year, 
which wrecked the property. At one time anthracite was used in con- 
nection with charcoal, without serious detriment to the quality of the 
iron. 

The Locust Point Rolling Mill, Messrs. Coates & Brother, built in 
1862 with a capacity of 5,000 tons, is now manufacturing tin plates. 

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company built in 1870 at Cumber- 
land a rail mill with fifteen double puddling furnaces and fifteen heating 



110 MARYLAND. 

furnaces, three trains of rolls, three hammers, and in 1873 a bar mill for 
making bar iron, bolts, rivets, spikes and fish plates. The capacity of the 
two mills was 40,000 tons. The manufacture of rails was abandoned in 
1882. Since then the mill has been leased to the Cambria Iron Company, 
who now use it for rolling steel billets. 

The Cumberland Steel works were built in 1873, with four steel ham- 
mers and twenty-four crucibles. These works are no longer in operation. 

The Canton Iron Works, built by Anderson Brothers & Company, at 
Canton in 1878, manufactured bar iron. They were abandoned in 1883. 

Other less important ventures were the Naseongo Furnace, built by 
Mark Richards in 1830, near Snow Hill, Wicomico county, and only 
operated a short time during the war ; a rolling mill, erected by Samuel 
T. Ellicott, just above Ellicott City in 1830, but dismantled in 1840; the 
•Locust Grove Furnace on Stemmer's Eun, built in early days and operated 
until 1869; the Savage Furnace, near Laurel, abandoned in 1874 and now 
in ruins; the Laurel Furnace, built at Locust Point in 1846, and the La 
Grange Furnace and Bloomary, built in 1836, are now abandoned. The 
latter was in operation until 1874. 

The only furnaces now manufacturing Maryland iron are Muirkirk 
and the Stickney Iron Company, at Canton. The McCullogh Iron Com- 
pany continues to operate two old rolling mills, the Octorora, at Eol- 
landsville near Port Deposit, built in 1829, and the mill at North East, 
built in 1847 and rebuilt in 1875. Their third mill, the West Amweil 
Works at Elkton, is now abandoned. 

It is doubtful whether any of these can long continue to compete 
with the great iron and steel plants using foreign ores, or those from 
distant parts of this country. 

A new regime has entered in by the inauguration of the great works 
at Sparrow's Point, built by the Maryland Steel Company, destined in 
the future not only to be great producers of iron and steel, but to add 
another to Maryland's industries which will be of equal if not para- 
mount importance — the construction of iron vessels. Although a half 
decade has scarcely passed, these works have assumed great proportions. 

The property owned by the Maryland Steel Company, consisting of 
about one thousand acres, was purchased by the Pennsylvania Steel Com- 
pany early in 1887. Preliminary surveys were at once made, and a plant 
for the manufacture of red bricks to be used in the construction of the 
works was established in July of the same year. 

The foundations of the blast-furnace plant were commenced in 
August of that year, and the first furnace was completed and blown in 
in October, 1889. Three others have since been completed. The furnaces 
are each eighty-five feet high, twenty-two feet in diameter at the bosh 



MINES AND MINERALS. Ill 

and have a daily capacity of from 225 to 300 tons when working on the 
usual mixtures of foreign ores. 

The Baltimore and Sparrow's Point Railroad, connecting these works 
with the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads, was com- 
menced in March, 1888, and opened for passenger and freight traffic in 
January, 1889. 

The construction of the Bessemer plant and rolling mill was com- 
menced in May, 1889. The first heat of Bessemer steel, and the first 
Bessemer steel ever made in Maryland, was made at 4.17 P. M., August 
1st, 1891, and the first rail was rolled six days later. The capacity of the 
Bessemer Department as it now stands, is from 1,800 to 2,000 tons per 
day, and the rolling mills about 1,500 tons per day. 

The construction of the foundry, machinery, boiler and pattern 
shops was carried on contemporaneously with the rolling mills. 

The construction of the buildings and slips of the Marine Depart- 
ment was begun in March, 1890. The first boat, the tug Pennwood, 107 
feet long by 21 feet beam, was launched at 1 P. M., May 30th, 1891. Since 
that time there have been completed five other boats : The Douglas H. 
Thomas, 122 feet 9 inches long by 21 feet beam; the Lancaster, 213 feet 
long by 32 feet beam: the Alabama, 305 feet long, 43 feet beam; the 
Oermania, 80 feet 6 inches long, 17 feet beam; the Frances, 85 feet 6 
inches long, 17 feet beam. 

Three other boats are now in course of construction — a steamer 293 
feet long, 42 feet beam ; and two tug-boats, one of which is 85 feet 6 
inches long by 17 feet beam, and the other 111 feet 7 inches long by 22 
feet beam. 

Additional shops and apparatus are being constantly added to this 
department, which is now one of the most complete in the world. 

The steel plates, shapes and castings used in the construction of 
vessels at this shipyard are at the present time manufactured by the 
Pennsylvania Steel Company at Steelton, Pa. It is, however, the ultimate 
intention of this company to manufacture all this material at its own 
plant. 

The pig iron is smelted chiefly from Cuban ores from the Jurugua 
mines, which are controlled by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and 
Bethlehem Iron Company. These are mixed to a greater or less extent 
with ores from Spain and Algeria. 

The coke used in the blast furnaces is obtained partly from the 
Connellsville region, partly from the Mountain region about Galitzin, 
Pa., and partly from West Virginia. 

Bituminous coal is brought from Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 
and the limestone used in smelting from Texas, Baltimore County. 



112 MARYLAND. 

Fourteen hundred men are employed in the steel works and machine 
shops, which number would he increased to seventeen hundred if the 
plant were in full operation. Seven hundred men are employed in the 
marine department. 

COPPER. 

There are in Maryland three veins of copper ore, which, before 
the opening of the Lake Superior copper region, about 1844, and 
later of the Montana and Arizona mines, were considered of no mean 
promise, and did actually make Maryland for a time one of the copper- 
producing States. The first of these veins runs along the Linganore 
hills, in Frederick county, from New London northward to a point 
beyond Libertytown. On this vein are the New London mine, near the 
town of that name, containing rich purple ore in seams and pockets 
through a slate vein; the Dollyhide Mine, containing purple ore in con- 
siderable quantities between the slate and limestone, and the Liberty 
mine of rich gray ore in seams and bunches through limestone, these 
two latter mines being near the town of Liberty. About 20 miles east 
of these are three other mines on a distinctly marked vein running 
northeasterly from near Sykesville, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 
through Carroll county, to and beyond Finksburg, on the Western Mary- 
land Railroad. These are the Springfield mine, on the Patterson estate, 
near Sykesville, the Mineral Hill mine, about five miles northeast of 
it, and the Patapsco mine, near Finksburg, about five miles further to 
the northeast. These mines are all in a slate formation, and formerly 
produced sulphurets of high grade. 

The third deposit is in the Bare Hills, near Mount Washington, on 
the Northern Central Railroad, where the Bare Hill mine is located in the 
hornblende gneiss, producing a good sulphuret ore. There were also small 
quantities of ore taken from various prospect holes and outcroppings, but 
these are the only mines that were ever worked as such. They are now all 
closed down and, with the exception of the Mineral Hill and the Bare 
Hill, apparently forever. These two, while not running now, have consid- 
erable promise of ore ; but the low price of copper, the smallness of the 
deposits and the cost of equipping them with modern machinery, has for 
some years prevented them from being worked. 

That Maryland was early explored for mineral wealth is shown by a 
report on the Province, made in December, 1748, by the Governor and 
Council to the London Board of Trade, which, among other items, states 
that " there are in the Province great shews of copper in many places, but 
of the several attempts that have been made to discover veins of that 
metal none has yet been made that quitted cost." 

It must have been shortly after this that a party of English miners 
opened the Liberty and Mineral Hill mines. They built a small smelting 



MINES AND MINERALS. 113 

furnace on the Deer Park tract of land near the latter mine, where they 
smelted the ores from both mines, and must have produced considerable 
quantities of copper, as was shown by the large amount of rich slags and 
residues left at the furnace, which, nearly a century later, were hauled to 
Baltimore and profitably reworked. At the breaking out of the Revolu- 
tionary war these Englishmen went to England, intending, tradition 
says, to return as soon as " the insurrection was suppressed." From this 
time little regular mining was done until 1835, when Isaac Tyson, Jr., 
leased and opened the New London mine, which he worked from time to 
time until he sold it in 1855, shortly after which it was abandoned. 
About 1838 he reopened the old Liberty mine and erected a small furnace 
near by in which the ores were smelted. In 1845 he obtained control of 
the neighboring Dollyhide mine (so called, it is said, from an Indian name), 
which had previously been spasmodically worked on a small scale, and 
ran this mine until 1855, when he sold it to the Dollyhide Mining Com- 
pany. This company was shortly afterwards drowned out while sinking 
a shaft near a swamp, and the mine abandoned, the machinery being sold 
and removed to the Springfield mine. This Springfield mine was also 
opened by Mr. Tyson in 1849, primarily for iron ore, but it developed into 
a copper mine, and for many years produced freely and profitably. The 
Springfield Copper Company was organized, the machinery from the 
Dollyhide mine set up, and until 1869 the mine was quite prominent as a 
producer of copper and as a popular local speculative mining stock. It 
was sunk to a depth of 1,400 feet on an incline, and was still producing at 
the time the original twenty-one year lease expired. A renewal of the 
lease could not be arranged with the owners of the property, and the 
mine was then robbed of its pillars and caved in beyond recovery. 

In 1849 Mr. Tyson re-opened the Mineral Hill mine, his attention 
having been attracted to it by the rich slags from the pre-revolutionary 
furnace near by, and worked it successfully until 1861, and then trans- 
ferred it to the Mineral Hill Mining Company, which company his heirs 
still control. This mine was worked almost continuously until two or 
three years ago, and even now has not been abandoned, but only tempora- 
rily closed. The Liberty mine, after being worked by Mr. Tyson until 1864, 
was transferred to the Liberty Mining Company and purchased by New 
York parties, who bonded the property and spent large sums of money 
upon it. Owing to difficulties among the owners, it was sold out under 
a mortgage in 1876, the new owners organizing the Maryland Copper 
Mining Company, which worked the mine until 1885. It was then 
abandoned. 

The Patapsco mine, near Finksburg, was opened by E. Remington 
and some Philadelphia parties in 1849, under the name of the Patapsco 
Mining Company. Shortly afterwards they discovered traces of cobalt 



114 MARYLAND. 

and nickel, and reorganized their company, with an increased capital, as 
the Patapsco Copper and Cobalt Mining Company. They built furnaces 
for the treatment of the ores, but in 1858 closed down without ever 
starting them, having lost much money in their operations. In 1860 the 
mine was bought by Baltimore parties, who organized the Maryland 
Copper Company, and ran the mine vigorously until 1865, when it was 
abandoned. 

The only other copper mine is the Bare Hill, or Vernon mine. It was 
opened by Thomas Petherick about 1845, but soon abandoned by him and 
taken up by a Mr. Davis, who sold it to Isaac Tyson, Jr. Petherick bad 
taken it from the owners under a Cornish lease for twenty-one years, the 
lease being the same that has been used for centuries in England. When 
Davis's lease expired, Mr. Tyson endeavored to hold the property under this 
Cornish lease, which he had bought from Petherick, but after a long and 
hard-fought lawsuit, the decision was rendered that this form of lease was 
not binding, owing to technical points in its construction, and the property 
went back to the original owners. It is said that this decision caused 
great anxiety in Cornwall, where so many valuable mines were being 
worked under leases of this kind. After passing through several hands, 
the property came into the control of the Bare Hill Mining Company, 
and later into the hands of the Vernon Mining Company, and is now 
owned by Baltimore parties, who have strong hopes that the mine will 
again be worked. This mine has produced considerable quantities of 
ore, and has, it is asserted, made money for its owners at times when 
copper commanded better prices. It has been worked to a depth of 800 
feet on an incline, and when it was closed in 1889, showed considerable 
copper at the bottom of this shaft. 

It will thus be seen, that while the mines of Maryland commanded 
attention in their day, they have never contained such large masses of 
mineral as make the western mines profitable. The copper occurs in 
small quantities, and, while of excellent quality, it has generally cost 
more than it was worth. While not commercially important, they have 
produced much that was curious and interesting to the geologist. 
Carrollite (or cuban, with cobalt in place of iron) is known only from 
the Springfield and Patapsco Mines, while remingtonite, a rose-colored 
hydrous cobalt carbonate, occurs at the latter as its sole locality. 
Native gold, in thin flakes, occurs on foliated magnetite at Mineral Hill, 
and pyrite, bornite, siegenite and malachite, may be mentioned as occur- 
ring in small quantities. 

The records of the copper mines in Maryland show that the parties 
in interest went through their due share of sanguine hope and realized 
woe. The machinery fifty years ago was crude, assays were unreliable, 
ready money was scarce, and most of the mines had to be worked in a 



MINES AND MINERALS. 115 

semi-rural way, tlie miners farming during good weather and mining 
during bad. "While, therefore, the product was insignificant as compared 
with that of the Western mines of to-day, it doubtless represented, in its 
day, no mean engineering and financiering ability. 

Coming now to the smelting and working of copper in Maryland, we 
find the situation more encouraging. The smelting furnaces at Mineral 
Hill and Liberty have been mentioned, the former as being in operation 
prior to 1776 and the latter about 1840. In 1780 John Evans is said to 
have rolled copper at his mill on Big Elk, in Cecil County. He had 
an iron rolling and slitting mill, and rolled copper as occasion demanded. 
It is not said where he got his supply of copper, but it was probably 
from England. 

In 1804 Levi Hollingsworth, one of the Cecil county family of that 
name, is said to have started a rolling mill, and, in 1810, he pro- 
duced 100 tons. This is somewhat traditional, but it is known that 
about this time he went to England and studied thoroughly the rolling 
and refining of copper, and in 1814 built the Gunpowder Copper Works 
on the Gunpowder River, eleven miles north of Baltimore. Much of the 
machinery he brought from England with him, and the works were quite 
extensive, costing nearly $100,000. There were two sets of sheet rolls, 
two refining furnaces, and later, a cupola furnace for treating the slag, the 
power being furnished by a water-wheel. The organization was some- 
what bucolic, the men becoming farmers when business was slack, and 
rolling being apparently abandoned while the crops required attention. 
The copper itself came mostly in the form of bars or pigs of copper from 
Chili. These contained about 96 per cent, copper, and were refined on 
the premises in the refining furnaces. Mr. Hollingsworth ran these 
works successfully until his death, in 1822, when the McKims, of Balti- 
more, took charge, in connection with the Hollingsworth family, and ran 
them until 1837. Then they were reorganized and operated as Hollings- 
worth & Co., and at the commencement of the war in 1861 were shut 
down. During this time a large amount of copper was produced and 
several large contracts filled, the roofing of the original dome of the 
Capitol of Washington being of Gunpowder copper. In 1833, Griffith, in 
a description of Baltimore, mentions these works as being quite exten- 
sive. He also mentions as one of the sights of the city the copper mill 
on Smith's wharf, belonging to Isaac McKim, which was notable for 
being driven by "a stupendous steam engine." This mill was started 
about 1827, principally for making sheathing copper for ships' bottoms, 
and ran continuously until 1845. The Ellicott Iron Works, near Ellicott 
City, also at times rolled copper. 

In 1845 the Baltimore and Cuba Smelting and Mining Company was 
incorporated with Haslett McKim as President and David Keener as 



116 MARYLAND. 

Agent. The company was originally organized to mine and smelt the 
ores from the Elodie Mines of Don Bartholomeo Trenard near Santiago 
de Cuba, he being one of the original promoters of the scheme. A tract 
of land was purchased on Locust Point, Little Cuba street still remaining 
as a landmark to indicate the spot, and the erection of furnaces com- 
menced at once. Trenard was made agent of the company in Cuba, and 
sent out to open the mines and commence the shipment of ore. Early in 
1846 the works were ready, but the expected ore did not arrive, and a 
commission sent to Cuba reported so unfavorably upon the Trenard mines 
that all connection with Mm was broken off. At this time Baltimore was 
largely engaged in trade with the West Indies and the west coast of South 
America, and the company commenced operations with ores purchased 
from Cuba and Chili, supplemented with small parcels from Maryland 
and the neighboring States. 

In 1849 a rolling mill was built to enable the company to put part of 
its product upon the market in a more finished form, and in 1850 a yellow- 
metal mill was added. In 1849 Dr. Keener left the service of the 
company and became connected with the rival works just about starting 
at Canton, on the opposite side of the harbor. The company had not 
been successful ; the failure of the Trenard mines had left it without a 
regular supply of ore, and the buying of large cargoes of Chilian ore, with 
the attendant loss of interest and risk of the market during the passage 
around Cape Horn, had, as a rule, resulted in loss. The management had 
much to contend with in getting men competent to organize a business 
which required so much expert knowledge, and after a year of apparent 
prosperity the deficit became larger until 1851, when it was determined 
to wind up the concern. The furnaces were demolished, part of the 
land sold, and finally in 1854 the works themselves were sold. In dis- 
mantling the works a very large amount of copper was discovered in the 
furnace bottoms and also in the slags which had been thrown out. Much 
of this was shipped to England, and the amount realized was so great 
that the company was encouraged to re-commence operations. The sale 
of the works was cancelled, additional capital called in, and in 1855 the 
works commenced with an enlarged plant. Then came a year or two of 
rising market and large profits followed by a year of heavy losses. About 
this time the company became interested in a process for treating sulphu- 
ret ores by leaching them with water and then precipitating the copper 
with iron. Experiments were made at a mine in Virginia, but without 
success and with considerable loss. About 1860 Clinton Levering became 
President, and in 1864 the rival works at Canton were absorbed, both 
being thereafter run by the Baltimore and Cuba Smelting and Mining 
Company. This rival concern was the Baltimore Copper Smelting Com- 
pany, organized in 1850, with Dr. Keener as agent and George Brown as 



MINES AND MINERALS. 117 

President. Works were built at Canton, where the present copper works 
now stand, a favorable contract made with a copper mine in Chili, and 
the company had a prosperous existence until it was finally sold, as stated 
above, to the Baltimore and Cuba Smelting and Mining Company. Mr. 
Levering was shortly thereafter succeeded as President by Henry Martin. 

In 1868 the works at Locust Point were removed to Canton, the prop- 
erty being sold to the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Company, and the company 
reorganized as the Baltimore Copper Company. The changed condition 
of affairs after the war, the uncertain supply of ore and other causes 
brought the company into financial straits, and the prohibitive tariff of 
1869 was the finishing stroke. In 1870 William Keyser became president 
in order to wind up the affairs of the company, John W. Garrett and 
Johns Hopkins being at that time virtually the sole owners. 

About this time ores from California, Arizona and Montana began to 
come upon the market, and the firm of Pope, Cole & Company was 
formed to operate the works at Canton, George A. Pope and George B. 
Cole, of the Gunpowder Copper Works, being the general partners, and 
Johns Hopkins, John W. Garrett, William Keyser, John S. Gilman and G. 
W. Ward the special partners. The concern now ran altogether upon 
western ores and did a large and constantly increasing business. In 
earlier days a sulphuric acid plant had been added in accordance with 
some crude idea of utilizing the sulphur in the South American ores. 
This idea had been abandoned and acid was now made from brimstone 
and sold on the market. The combination of sulphuric acid and copper 
naturally led to the manufacture of sulphate of copper, or blue vitriol, 
which became a large branch of the business. 

The old Gunpowder Copper Works, at the close of the war, had been 
incorporated into a company and had started operations again. In 1866 
the property was sold to the City of Baltimore in connection with the city 
water supply. The company then leased the works from the city and 
ran them until 1883, when, owing to lack of water sufficient to furnish 
power and the general wearing out of the antiquated machinery, the 
plant was abandoned and a new and modern rolling mill built at Canton, 
adjoining the copper works. The name of the company was changed to 
the Baltimore Copper Rolling Company. In 1885 the firm of Pope & 
Cole, consisting of the general partners of Pope, Cole & Company, 
became embarrassed and carried down with it the latter firm. In 1887 
the Baltimore Copper Rolling Company was changed into the Baltimore 
Copper Smelting & Rolling Company, with William Keyser as president, 
and with an increased capital purchased the business and remaining 
assets of Pope, Cole & Company. Since that time the business has been 
actively carried on by this concern. After several years of experiment- 
ing an electrolytic plant for the purification of copper by electrolysis 



118 MARYLAND. 

was added. This process had long been a successful laboratory experi- 
ment, but it was not until 1890 that it was made a commercial success. 

In 1891 the Baltimore Electric Refining Company was organized and 
a large plant erected about half a mile east of the copper works, and the 
next year the capacity of the works was doubled. The present plant of 
the Baltimore Copper Smelting and Rolling Company consists of the 
copper smelting works, the blue vitriol works, the copper rolling mills, 
the electrolytic department and the acid works, each run as a separate 
department. The smelting works consist of calcining furnaces, eighteen 
reverberatory furnaces, six refining furnaces, two cupola furnaces, a crush- 
ing plant and the other necessary adjuncts. The blue vitriol works is 
one of the largest in the country, supplying last year all the sulphate of 
copper used by the Western Union Telegraph Company, in addition to 
large quantities to Paris green makers and others. The rolling mill is 
especially adapted to the rolling of thin copper sheets, principally for 
bath-tub manufacturers, and produces about 100,000 pounds per month. 
The electrolytic department is worked under what is known as the Pierce 
system, the current being furnished by two Edison 80 K. W. dynamos. 
The acid works are now restricted to making acid for the blue vitriol 
and electric works, none being made for sale. The Baltimore Electric 
Refining Company's works are operated under the Hayden system ; they 
consist of a rolling mill for rolling the anode plates, a large depositing 
house, the current being furnished by six Edison and three Westinghouse 
direct-coupled 80 K. W. dynamos, four refining furnaces, a slimes-house 
for treating the residues and refining the bullion, and the necessary ware- 
houses, repair shops, etc. 

These two companies, being virtually under one management, form 
one of the largest copper works in existence, and the B. ,C. W. casting 
copper is recognized as a standard brand, both at home and abroad. The 
electrolytic copper, which is used for rolling and especially for electric 
wires, has also made for itself a good name during the short time it has 
been on the market and is now largely used for trolley wires, a field 
which promises to push to the utmost for several years to come the 
capacity of the company to supply the demand. Both these works are 
now running entirely on copper material from the Anaconda mines at 
Butte, Montana, and have for several years past handled almost the 
entire product of these mines put upon the American market, all that is 
not consumed in America being shipped from Baltimore to the various 
European ports. 

This is briefly the history of copper mining, smelting and manufac- 
turing in Maryland. The deposits of copper are not such as ever to make 
the mining of it practicable, and the smelting industry, like every other 
manufacturing business, is subject to change of processes and conditions, 



MINES AND MINERALS. 119 

which render it impossible to foretell its future. We have seen that the 
original operations were based upon supplies of ore from the mines on 
the eastern seaboard and imported ores from Cuba and the west coast of 
South America. The former supply failed from scarcity of mineral, and 
the latter was cut off by the war tariff. The works then languished, all 
except two on the Atlantic seaboard going entirely out of business, until 
the supplies of ore began to come in from the far West, seeking smelters 
where labor and fuel were cheap and where the market for finished 
product was convenient. This western copper first came in the form of 
raw ore and later, as labor, fuel and supplies became cheaper in the 
West, in the form of matte or regulus, which had been through the 
preliminary processes and contained a higher percentage of copper and a 
less percentage of waste material upon whicli freights were to be paid. 
The rapid settlement of the mining districts of the West, the increased 
railway facilities and the cheapening of all that enters into the smelting 
and refining of copper, including the introduction of revolving calciners 
and the Bessemer converter in place of the reverberatory furnace of the 
Welsh process, has gone on so rapidly that now refined copper is being 
shipped from mines from which only a few years ago ore was sent East 
in its raw condition. All this renders the future of smelting on the 
seacoast difficult to foretell. The great Welsh smelters are even now 
feeling the altered condition of affairs, and a change in the copper 
smelting situation in this country is only a question of a few years. 
What the effect will be upon the Baltimore works is naturally an 
interesting question. That there will be a change no one familiar with 
the business can doubt, but we are certainly justified in the hope that it 
will tend more and more to increase the copper industry here. Baltimore 
is peculiarly well adapted to this industry. The mild climate obviates 
the necessity for substantial and expensively heated buildings, an especial 
item in electrolytic works ; living is cheap, the coal from the Cumberland 
region is one of the best for smelting purposes, the city is the nearest 
seaport to the West, and this is an item both in the receipt of raw 
material and in the distribution of the finished product ; the facilities 
for distribution to New York and northern points are excellent ; in fact, 
the cost of delivering copper to points in New York is very little more 
than if delivered from works in the immediate vicinity ; the frequent 
sailings and cheap rates to foreign ports of steamers carrying large 
quantities of grain and cattle and needing heavy freight for ballast, make 
it an advantageous point for distributing abroad, and the United States 
is each year becoming more and more the source of the European 
copper supply. So whether the raw material still comes from the West, 
or should part of it, under a more moderate tariff, again come from 
South America, Baltimore has good promise of becoming what several 



120 MARYLAND. 

years ago the London Times, in an article on the copper situation in 
America, predicted that it would become, the Swansea, the copper- 
smelting seaport of the United States. 



The chrome industry is one of the most unique and characteristic 
in Baltimore. It originated in the early discovery of chrome ore in the 
serpentine of Maryland, and has ever since maintained its prestige as one 
of the sources of the world's supply of the chromates of potassium and 
sodium, which have many applications in the arts. The following is the 
substance of an historical account of the Maryland chrome industry, 
kindly prepared by Mr. William Glenn : 

In 1827 chrome ore was first discovered in America on land belonging 
to Mr. Isaac Tyson, in what are known as the Bare Hills, six miles north 
of Baltimore. Mr. Tyson's son, Isaac Tyson, Jr., then in business with 
his father, was persuaded by an English workman to attempt the manu- 
facture of " chrome yellow " from this material, and this was done in a 
factory on what is now Columbia avenue, in Baltimore, in 1828. In the 
year of the discovery of the Bare Hill ore, Mr. Isaac Tyson, Jr., who 
seems to have possessed a very keen power of observation as well as a 
considerable knowledge of chemistry, recognized in a dull black stone, 
which he saw supporting a cider barrel in Belair market, more of the 
same valuable material. Inquiry disclosed the fact that this had been 
brought from near Jarrettsville, in Harford county, where much more 
like it was to be found. Mr. Tyson at once examined the locality, and 
finding it covered with boulders worth $100 per ton in Liverpool, pur- 
chased a considerable area. 

Finding that the chrome ore was always confined to serpentine, Mr. 
Tyson began a systematic examination of the serpentine areas of Mary- 
land, which could be easily traced by the barren character of the soil 
which they produce. A narrow belt of serpentine extends across Mont- 
gomery county, and while chrome ore is occasionally found in it (as, for 
instance, at Etchison P. O.), nothing of economic importance has ever 
been discovered in Maryland south of the areas known as " Soldier's 
Delight" and "Bare Hills." Northeastward, however, the deposits 
become much richer. The region near Jarrettsville was productive, and 
thence the serpentine was traced to the State line in Cecil county. 
Near Rock Springs the serpentine turns and follows the State line east- 
ward for fifteen miles. On the Wood farm, half a mile north of the 
State line and five miles north of Rising Sun in Cecil county, Mr. Tyson 
discovered in 1838 a chromite deposit which proved to be the richest ever 
found in America. This property was at once purchased by Mr. Tyson 
and the mine opened. At the surface it was 30 feet long and 6 feet wide, 



MINES AND MINERALS. 121 

and tlie ore so pure that each 10 cubic feet produced a ton of chrome ore 
averaging 54 per cent, of chromic oxide. The ore was hauled 12 miles by 
wagon to Port Deposit and shipped thence by water to Baltimore and 
Liverpool. At a depth of 20 feet the vein narrowed somewhat, but 
immediately broadened out again to a length of 120 feet and a width of 
from 10 to 30 feet. The Wood Mine was worked almost continuously 
from 1828 to 1881, except between the years 1868 and 1873. During that 
time it produced over 100,000 tons of ore and reached a depth of 600 
feet. It is not yet exhausted, but the policy of its owners is to reserve 
their ores while they can be elsewhere purchased at a cheap rate. 
Another well-known chrome mine in this region is exactly on the State 
boundary at Rock Springs, and is called the Line Pit. So much of this 
deposit as lay within the limits of Maryland was owned by Mr. Tyson, 
while he worked the Pennsylvania portion on a royalty. 

Other chrome openings near the Line Pit were known as the "Jenkins 
Mine," "Low Mine," "Wet Pit," and "Brown Mine." This region has 
proved one of the best in the country for fine specimens of rare minerals. 
As a mineral locality it is usually given as "Texas, Pa."* 

During his exploration of the serpentine belt Mr. Tyson also noticed 
deposits of chromite sand ; and to control the entire supply of this ore, he 
either bought or leased these also, and worked them to some extent with 
his mines. 

Between 1828 and 1850 Baltimore supplied most of the chrome ore 
consumed by the world; the remainder came from the serpentine 
deposits and platinum washings of the Urals. The ore was at first 
shipped to England, the principal consumers being J. & J. White, of Glas- 
gow, whose decendants are still the chief manufacturers of chromic acid 
salts. In 1844 Mr. Tyson established the Baltimore Chrome Works, which 
are still successfully operated by his sons. 

After 1850 the foreign demand for Baltimore ore declined gradually 
till 1860, since which time almost none has been shipped abroad. The 
reason for this was the discovery, in 1848, of great deposits of chromite 
near Brusa, 57 miles southwest of Constantinople, by Prof. J. Lawrence 
Smith, who was employed by the Turkish Government to examine the 
mineral resources of that country. Other deposits were also discovered 
by him fifteen miles further south, and near Antioch. These regions now 
supply the world's demand. 

After the discovery of the magnitude of Wood Pit, and of the 
bountiful supply of sand chrome to be found within the Baltimore 
region, Isaac Tyson, Jr., began to fear that the sources of supply could 
not much longer be restricted to his ownership. In such an event, he 

*P. Frazer, 2d Geological Survey of Penn., vol. CCC, Lancaster county, 1880; pp. 176 and 192. 



122 MARYLAND. 

realized that lie would be compelled to manufacture Ms ores or to sacri- 
fice them in competition. 

The method of manufacture previously in use was to heat a mixture 
of chrome ore and potassium nitrate upon the working hearth of a rever- 
beratory furnace. The potash salt yielded oxygen to the chromic oxide 
present, forming chromic acid, which, in turn, united with the base, pro- 
ducing potash cliromate. The process was wasteful and exceedingly 
costly. Afterwards, the process was somewhat cheapened by substitution 
of potassium carbonate for the more costly nitrate ; oxygen was taken from 
heated air in the furnace. But not until 1845, when Stromeyer introduced 
his process, was the manufacture of chromic acid placed upon a safe 
mercantile basis. In this process pulverized chromic iron is mixed with 
potassium carbonate and freshly slaked lime, and the mixture is heated 
in a reverberatory furnace. After chromic oxide is set free in the charge, 
it is freely oxidized because of the spongy condition of the lime-laden 
charge. 

Among the first steps of Isaac Tyson, Jr., was to apply, in 1846, to 
Yale College for a chemist for his chrome works. In response, a young 
man named W. P. Blake, who was then a student in the chemical labora- 
tory, was sent. For awhile Mr. Blake did excellent service in the new 
factory, but he was not willing to remain. 

Mr. (now Professor) Blake was the first chemist to be employed in 
technology upon this continent; while the Baltimore works were the 
first to appreciate the value of chemistry. After the departure of Mr. 
Blake, another chemist was secured from the first laboratory ever insti- 
tuted for the teaching of chemistry, that founded at Giessen by Liebig. 
In succession came another chemist, from the same laboratory, and this 
gentleman is yet employed in the works. 

Between 1880 and 1890 the American production of chrome ore has 
varied between 1,500 and 3,000 tons. The total eastern product in 1886 
was 100 tons only. Chrome ore was discovered in California in 1873, 
and since 1886 this State has been the only one to produce this mineral. 
From two to four thousand tons of Turkish chrome ore are now annually 
imported into the United States, most of which is manufactured in 
Baltimore. 

GOLD. 

It has long been known that the abundant veins of quartz which pen- 
etrate the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont Plateau in Georgia, North 
Carolina, Virginia and Maryland frequently carry gold. In 1836 Professor 
"W. B. Rogers, then State Geologist of Virginia, devoted considerable space 
in his annual report to a description of the auriferous rocks.* 

*Geology of the Virginias (reprint) p. 1i, 188i. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 123 

The first gold ever found in Maryland was discovered in 1849 on the 
farm of Samuel Ellicott, a farmer living near Sandy Spring, on the north- 
ern edge of Montgomery county. Specimens from this place were 
exhibited to the American Philosophical Society by Mr*. Justice in that 
year and described in their proceedings.* Professor Ebenezer Emmons 
reported on this locality, and gave assays made by the United States Mint 
of $610, $787 and $168 per ton. Considerable gold is said to have been 
taken from this locality by parties who paid Mr. Ellicott a royalty of ten 
per cent. 

Most of the Maryland gold mines are, however, situated near the 
southern edge of Montgomery county, near the Great Falls of the 
Potomac. f Many claims have recently been developed in this region. 
The Maryland mine is the oldest in this region, and was opened in 1867. 
It showed some wonderfully rich specimens, but the gold was so 
unevenly distributed that it proved only a source of loss to its owners, 
and was soon abandoned. About 1876 the Montgomery mine was opened 
on Rock Run and equipped with stamp mill, furnace and other machinery. 
This company obtained several thousand dollars' worth of gold, but the 
mine was soon abandoned. It has, however, been recently again developed 
by a new organization called the Potomac Mining Company. 

The most extensive gold deposits occur on what is known as the Harri- 
son Farm, about a mile south of the Montgomery mine, where the metal 
was first discovered in 1888 by Mr. Kirk, a Georgia miner. Eight veins had 
been opened on this property in 1890, ranging from $12 to $30 per ton, 
and had produced a total of $12,000 worth of bullion. The Allerton- 
Ream mine, 2J miles east of the Harrison, is near the Potomac, above 
Great Falls. Several other smaller veins have also been opened in this 
neighborhood. The Alton mine, Henry Watson manager, is owned in 
Chicago, and is being fitted out with a 20-stamp mill ; the Eagle (opera- 
tions suspended for the present) has a 10-stamp mill; the Irma, Mr. W. 
T. S. Kirk, manager, has a 10-stamp mill ; the Kirk Mining and Milling 
Company has a Wiswell mill, with bumping tables and a concentrator. 
It is owned in Chicago. 

Reports are frequent of the discovery of gold in Maryland, north of 
Montgomery County, as for instance, near Hood's Mill in Howard County, 
and near Westminster in Carroll County. These finds have not yet, how- 
ever, proved of any value. It will be noticed, by reference to the 
geological map, that all of these gold localities lie close to the boundary 
between the holocrystalline and semi-crystalline portions of the Pied- 
mont Plateau. The quartz veins, which carry the metal, occupy old 

*Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc, vol. V, p. 85, 1849. 

+ See Notes on the Gold Deposits of Montgomery County, Maryland, by S. Y. Emmons, Trans. Am. 
Inst- Mining Engineers, February, 1890. 



124 MARYLAND. 

lines of earth movement (faulting and crushing), and the adjoining rock 
is usually much decomposed. The gold, according to the observations 
of Emmons, occurs either in pure quartz, or in association with pyrite, 
or in the pyrite. It is also sometimes accompanied by lead (galena), 
silver and telluride of bismuth (tetradymite). According to the Eleventh 
United States Census, the production of gold in Maryland in 1889 was 
501 ounces, worth $10,369, and in 1890, 817 ounces, valued at $16,885. 

GKANITIC ROCKS. 

Maryland contains large areas of highly crystalline feldspathic rocks, 
which are already extensively applied as building stones and for other 
constructive purposes. The quality of these stones is so good that this 
industry seems capable of a much larger development than it has 
heretofore attained. A large proportion of the eastern Piedmont region 
is composed of the material here under consideration. (See geological 
map). The most acid or quartzose varieties of these rocks are known as 
granite and gneiss. Since these differ from one another only in the 
latter having a more or less pronounced parallel structure, it is not 
always possible to distinguish sharply between them, especially as true 
granites often have such a structure secondarily developed in them by 
pressure. 

The regions in Maryland now productive of acid feldspathic rocks are 
Port Deposit, in Cecil county, the vicinity of Baltimore and Woodstock 
in Baltimore county, and Ellicott City and Guilford in Howard county. 
Other districts in Howard and Montgomery counties and in the District 
of Columbia contain some good stone, but it is quarried only for local use. 

According to the returns of the 10th and 11th U. S. Census, the 
granite produced in Maryland incrjased 100 per cent, between 1880 and 
1890 (from $224,009 to $447,489). In the latter year Maryland ranked as 
the eleventh State in the Union in granite production. She had twenty- 
three quarries in operation, yielding 3,371,032 cubic feet, valued at a total 
of $447,489, and giving employment to 846 men. 

The Foliated Granite of Port Deposit. The rock which is so largely 
exposed and so extensively quarried along the north bank of the Susque- 
hanna River, near Port Deposit, is a gray biotite granite-gneiss, i. e., it is 
a granite with its dark-colored constituents arranged in parallel directions 
so as closely to resemble a gneiss. Inasmuch, however, as this structure 
has been in all probability secondarily produced in the rock by intense 
pressure, the common designation of this stone as "granite" is by no 
means incorrect. The history of this largest of all Maryland's stone 
industries is in brief as follows: In the years 1816-17 the Port Deposit 
Bridge Company constructed a road and toll bridge across the Susque- 
hanna River, the eastern approach to which was in what is now the 



MINES AND MINERALS. 125 

corporate limits of the town of Port Deposit, Cecil county. Much of the 
granite used in the masonry of this bridge was quarried on the spot, and 
the quarry thus opened was worked in a small way by Simon Freize, who 
had supplied the granite for the bridge. About 1829-30 the business 
passed into the hands of Samuel Magredy and Cornelius Smith, who 
enlarged their operations and opened up a considerable trade with Balti- 
more and elsewhere. Smith retiring, Magredy was left alone in the 
business until his death in 1844, when E. Wilmer, his son-in-law, suc- 
ceeded him. Other quarries were opened by other parties and worked 
with more or less success ; and the business is now carried on by Benja- 
min Kepner and McClenahan & Brother. 

Before the development of this industry by Magredy the value of the 
stone had been known, and large quantities used for making the artificial 
island on which was built the now abandoned Fort Wood, opposite 
Fortress Monroe. This granite has been used in the construction of 
Fortress Monroe, Forts Carroll and McHenry, Baltimore, Fort Delaware, 
the sea-wall at St. Augustine, Fla., navy yard and dry dock at Ports- 
mouth, Va., Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and in the foundation of 
the Treasury Building at Washington. Also in the construction of the 
great bridges over the Susquehanna at Havre de Grace, Md.; in the 
Chestnut Street, Girard Avenue, Callowhill and South Street bridges 
over the Schuylkill, Philadelphia ; in all the principal bridges of Balti- 
more ; in the construction of the new water works crib at Chicago ; also 
for the entire plant of the Maryland Steel Company's works at Sparrow's 
Point, Maryland. To this list might be added a large number of public 
and private buildings in Baltimore and Philadelphia. 

The output from McClenahan & Bro.'s quarries for the years 1891 and 

1892 is as follows : 

, 1891 v , 1892 , 

Tons. Value. Tons. Value. 

Rough Granite 51,400 $ 70,92S 37,725 $50,412 

Dressed Granite 4,600 80,650 10,152 112,336 

Paving Blocks 2,500 10,000 3,096 14,534 

Other purposes 2,000 6,388 16,750 17,513 

00,500 $167,966 67,723 $194,895 

In a test of the comparative resistance of various building materials 

to a crushing strain made by Bvt. Maj.-Gen. Q. A. Gilmore, U. S. Engineer, 

the Port Deposit granite sustained a pressure of 18,125 pounds per square 

inch, as may be seen in his report. 

The output of the other quarry at Port Deposit for the past three 

years does not exceed 10,000 tons per annum, valued at $2.50 per ton. 

The Woodstock Region. The best quality of granite in Maryland 

occurs in the southwest corner of Baltimore county, near Woodstock. 

The stone is here remarkably homogeneous in grain and color, which 



126 MARYLAND. 

renders it especially valuable for architectural purposes. The history of 
this granite region is given as follows by Mr. Attwood Blunl, who has 
long been associated with it : 

"In the neighborhood of Granite, Baltimore county, Md. (formerly 
Waltersville), about one and one-half miles from Woodstock, is a territory 
not exceeding two miles in length by about one mile in breadth, on 
which granite boulders occur. These boulders first attracted attention, 
and were worked by several enterprising men from New Hampshire, 
who commenced their operations here about the years 1832-33. Among 
them were the names Sweatt, Riddle, Putney, Holbrook, followed by 
many others, among whom were the Emorys, Gaults and Eatons. The 
principal demand was at first by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for 
stone stringers, dressed to correspond to the flange and tread of the car 
wheels, and also ashlar, &c, for their bridge and culvert work. 

"Although prospecting has been carried on ever since, only two ledge 
quarries have been discovered, viz : the " Waltersville " and " Fox Rock." 
The former is the principal one, and was at first called the "Branch." 
This rock developed into a fine ledge, surpassing all the granite around 
in quantity, quality and easy access, so that all the boulders in which 
Sweatt, Putney and Riddle were interested were at once abandoned. 
After working it for a year or two Putney and Riddle obtained a lease of 
this quarry for twenty years in August, 1835, from the owner, Captain 
Alexander Walters, to whose family this quarry has belonged for more 
than a century. It is called in the lease, and is still known as the 
Waltersville quarry, although the name of the village of Waltersville was 
changed to Granite about 1873-74, when the first postofB.ee at the place 
was established. The lessees went to Avork vigorously, and besides many 
other improvements, built a railroad two miles long to connect with the 
B. & O. at Putney and Riddle's bridge, about one mile east of Wood- 
stock. Their first contract of importance was furnishing stone for the 
Baltimore Custom House. They, however, continued the business only 
a few years. Extravagance and mismanagement caused failure, and they 
were succeeded by Edward Green and Joshua B. Sumwalt, under the 
firm-name of Green & Sumwalt. The senior partner dying about the 
year 1849, he was succeeded by his son Frederick, and the firm became 
Sumwalt & Green, who conducted the business until 1865, when Attwood 
Blunt, whose wife owned the property, took charge and continued the 
business until 1871, when the quarry was leased to Ansley Gill and James 
McMahon. After a lapse of about sixteen years, the firm was dissolved 
by the death of McMahon. Mr. Gill continued the business alone for a 
short while, when he associated with him Wm. H. Johnson, of Balti- 
more, and they soon after formed with Geo. Mann, Hugh Hanna, Messrs. 
Grey & Sons, of Philadelphia, and Mr. Hamilton, of Baltimore, a joint 



MINES AND MINEEALS. 127 

stock company, calling it the Guilford and AValtersville Granite Co. This 
company is now conducting the business. In Baltimore fully three- 
fourths of the stone for fine granite work has been procured from this 
quarry, and in Washington it has also been largely used. Many years 
ago this stone was extensively used in the Capitol, Patent Office and 
Post Office buildings. The interior granite work of the Post Office 
affords as fine a sample of its working qualities as any other work in 
Washington, unless surpassed by the more recent work on the new Con- 
gressional Library Building, the interior court of which has been built 
of this stone within the past three years. 

Shortly after the "Waltersville quarry was opened the " Fox Rock " 
quarry, which is also a ledge quarry, was also opened (1836) and worked 
by Emery & Gault. But after constructing a railroad to connect with the 
B. & O. at Woodstock, and bridging the Patapsco there and working the 
quarry about ten years, they abandoned it, and it remained idle for 
some time. The bridge and railroad went to decay and have never been 
rebuilt, although work was resumed in a small way, first by Alvin Eaton 
about 1869, who continued until it was sold to the Woodstock College. 
Shortly afterwards the quarry alone was sold by the college to 
several persons, including the Messrs. William A. and Matthew Gault, of 
Baltimore, who formed the Woodstock Granite Co. The quality of this 
granite is excellent. It has been largely used in Baltimore, notably in 
the B. & O. Central Building, corner Baltimore and Calvert streets, all 
the granite of which came from the Fox Rock quarry, except a few of 
the larger blocks, which were obtained from Waltersville. All the 
granite in the Fidelity Trust and Deposit Building, corner Lexington 
and Charles Streets, was also furnished by the Fox Rock quarry. 

Until within the past fifteen to eighteen years the methods of quar- 
rying and handling stone at these quarries were exceedingly primitive, 
and consequently slow, costly and inadequate. No steam power had 
been used except for pumping, and the output from the Waltersville 
ranged from 30,000 to 50,000 cubic feet per annum. But recently modern 
appliances have been adopted, particularly at the Waltersville, where a 
very costly and efficient plant has been built up and steam is used for 
pumping, hoisting, drilling and sawing the stone, and a steam motor 
used for transporting freight cars to and from the B. & O., instead of 
horses as formerly. This quarry can furnish stone of almost any required 
size, and it would be a comparatively easy matter to quarry out a mono- 
lith equal in size to the famous ' Cleopatra's needle.' " 

Ellicott City. Near Ellicott City, on both the Baltimore and 
Howard County sides of the Patapsco River, granite is extensively 
developed, extending far to the southward, and as far east as Ilchester. 
The quarries on the Baltimore County side of the river show this rock 



128 MARYLAND. 

as a fine grained grey mass, with a decided foliation or gneissic struc- 
ture. On the opposite side of the river, in Ellicott City itself, it is 
more homogeneous and granitic. Here it also has a porphyritic struc- 
ture, in consequence of large flesh-colored crystals of feldspar being more 
or less regularly disseminated through it. The most perfect varieties of 
this granite-porphyry present a striking and beautiful appearance. 

The principal Ellicott City quarry was opened in 1872 by Charles J. 
Werner, and since his death in 1888, has been operated by his sons. In 
1890 the Werner Brothers purchased a second quarry, which had before 
been operated by Robert Wilson. The stone occurring so abundantly here 
was, however, extensively employed at a much earlier date for local use, 
and even furnished the material of which the Baltimore Cathedral was 
constructed. Ammendale College, in Prince George's County, and many 
substantial structures in Ellicott City, are built of it. The production 
of this stone in 1892 amounted to 28,100 cubic feet, valued at $22,500. 

Other granite of excellent quality, and of a somewhat finer grain 
and lighter color than that occurring near Woodstock, is found at Guil- 
ford, in Howard County, but it has not yet received the development it 
deserves. A red granite, reported from this locality, turned out to be 
only a superficial staining of the grey stone and of no economic value. 

W. F. Weller opened a granite quarry on the Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad, near Sykesville, and made there, for about eighteen months, 
Belgian paving blocks. This work was, however, discontinued over a 
year ago. 

In Montgomery County there is also some good granite not yet 
developed, notably an almost pure white, fine-grained variety at Brook- 
ville, and darker varieties near Derwood station on the Metropolitan 
branch of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and near Triadelphia. 

Gneiss near Baltimore. The more solid varieties of the gneiss 
occurring in and near the city of Baltimore are extensively quarried for 
building and foundation stone. This stone is of a dark grey color, and 
occurs in parallel layers, which present more or less of a contrast. Build- 
ings constructed of this stone, of which there are many in Baltimore, 
present an agreeable effect. 

The oldest and most important quarries of gneiss are those on the 
east side of Jones's Falls, opposite Druid Hill Park. Other openings in 
th,e same rock have been made on Gwynn's Falls, Herring Run, Edmond- 
son Avenue, near McDonogh, and at other places. 

The great gneiss quarries on Jones's Falls, north of Boundary Avenue, 
in Baltimore, were in active operation very early in the century. They 
are mentioned as early as 1811 as a locality for specimens of certain 
minerals, of which they have ever since remained a noteworthy source. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 129 

A quarry was opened two years ago (1891) in a very granitoid gneiss, 
occurring beside the railroad, just at McDonogh Station, on the Western 
Maryland Eailroad. It is leased by the McDonogh School to George F. 
Nardin, who operates it. Of this stone the station houses at Mount Hope 
and Dolfield's, above Owings' Mills, have been built. It is also used for 
road ballast, Belgian blocks, sills, steps, etc. 

A few of the other crystalline siliceous rocks occurring in the 
Piedmont region of Maryland have received some application as build- 
ing stones, although this is in all cases very limited. 

Gabbro. The black trappean rocks, described on p. 39 as abundant 
in Harford, Baltimore and Howard counties, weather into a deep red soil, 
in which rounded boulders of the unaltered rock occur. These are 
locally known as " niggerhead," and as they have to be cleared out of the 
fields, they are extensively employed in building stone walls, foundations, 
etc. They are now rarely used for the construction of whole buildings, 
although in the case of the railway station at Arlington and a church at 
Woodbury this has been done. The rock is so extremely hard and 
tough that it cannot be economically quarried or dressed ; it is, therefore, 
always used in the form of natural boulders. As a material for maca- 
damizing roads it is said to have no superior. 

AmpMbole Schist. On the property belonging to the Alms House in 
Westminster, Carroll county, a quarry has been opened in a compact, 
finely crinkled amphibole schist, somewhat resembling an impure soap- 
stone, which has been used, with good effect, as a building stone. It was 
first employed in the construction of the Keyser Memorial Church at 
Reistertown. It is of a pleasing grayish green color, even texture, and 
is easily worked. It has since been used for the residence of the president 
of Western Maryland College at Westminster. 

SANDSTONE. 

Sandstone is a name given to beds of sand, like those now being 
formed along the seashore, which have been consolidated into rock by the 
deposition of some cementing material between their grains. The sand 
itself is usually in large part quartz, mixed with varying proportions of 
other mineral fragments. The color and durability of a sandstone 
depends in great measure on the nature of its cement, and according to 
what this is, sandstones are classified as siliceous, calcareous, ferrugi- 
nous, etc. 

Sandstones occur in all geological deposits of sedimentary origin, and 
are consequently of all ages. There are many sandstone horizons in 
Maryland, as may be seen by reference to the geological map. Many of 
these are well suited to furnish valuable building stones, but as yet only 
one locality has furnished this material for more than local use. 

9 



130 MARYLAND. 

Seneca Bed Sandstone. This is at present the only Maryland sand- 
stone which possesses a recognized reputation in the market. The 
formation from which it is obtained is of triassic age and is exten- 
sively developed along the eastern edge of the United States. It furnishes 
most of the red and brown freestone so extensively used for house fronts 
in New York and other large cities. There are extensive quarries in this 
formation in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. A belt of 
this rock enters Maryland between Emmitsburg and Union Bridge, 
rapidly narrowing toward Point of Eocks, while another area occupies 
the southwestern part of Montgomery County (see geological map). The 
only extensive quarries of this sandstone in Maryland are situated at the 
mouth of Seneca Creek, in Montgomery County, on the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal. 

The Seneca sandstone has been quarried in a more or less systematic 
way since 1774, when it was used in the construction of two locks on the 
old Potomac Canal, built round the Great Falls of the Potomac. In 1832 
it was used in the locks of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and also in 
an aqueduct on the same canal near the mouth of Seneca Creek. 

About this time, or soon after, the quarries became the property of 
Mr. Robert Peter, who continued to develop them, furnishing, in 1847, 
the stone of which the Smithsonian Institution is built. In 1867 Mr. 
Peter sold the quarries to Mr. H. H. Dodge, who organized the original 
Potomac Red Sandstone Company. This company greatly developed the 
quarries and marketed a large amount of the stone, principally in 
Washington. In 1874 the company became involved in litigation and 
the quarries were closed for nine years. In 1883, however, the company 
was reorganized, and the work pushed rapidly forward down to June, 
1889, at which time the canal, upon which the company depended for 
transportation, was washed out and the quarries lay idle for a period of 
two years. In 1891 Mr. George Mann, of Baltimore, purchased the prop- 
erty and founded the present organization, "The Seneca Stone Com- 
pany," which has since worked the quarries. 

Since the present company took charge of the quarries a force of 
sixty men has been kept busy, but the work has been mainly develop- 
ment. 

The production since the present company has worked the quarries 
has been as follows : 

Cu. Ft. Cost of Production. Value. 

1891 1,717.5 $ 3,497 32 $ 3,269 84* 

1892 20,208.9 10,301 51 25,168 81 

The stone has always been a favorite one with builders, not only 
because of its great strength and durability, but also because of the ease 

*Prom March 15 to September 1. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 131 

with which it is worked and its beautiful colors. When first quarried 
the stone is comparatively soft and susceptible of very delicate carving. 
It, however, soon hardens on exposure. 

Before the Seneca stone was adopted for the Smithsonian Buildings 
it was subjected to thorough tests by Prof. David Dale Owen and Dr. 
Page. It has also been since tested and reported on by Prof. James 
Hall, and by Mr. Adolph Cluss, engineer, of Washington, all of whose 
reports have been most favorable. Its strength was determined by the 
engineers of the U. S. Army as 10,762 pounds resistance to the square 
inch. Mr. G. P. Merril, head of the department of lithology in the 
U. S. National Museum, " does not hesitate to pronounce it one of the 
best of our Triassic sandstones. On blocks of the stone in the aqueduct 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which have been constantly per- 
meated by water every season for fifty years, the tool marks are still 
fresh, and no signs of scaling are visible other than those produced by 
too close contact at the joints."* 

Besides the Smithsonian Buildings, a number of important struc- 
tures have been constructed of this stone in Washington and Baltimore. 

Several other sandstone horizons in Maryland are quarried locally, 
and some of these furnish material of such good quality that they may 
become important sources of building stone. These sandstone deposits 
belong to the series of Paleozoic sediments (see p. 44 and map), the most 
important being, Cambrian (I), Medina (IV), and Oriskany (VII). 

Micaceous Sandstone of Deer CreeTc. On the south side of the 
infolded area of semi-crystalline schists surrounding the Peach Bottom 
slate area, in Harford county, is a strip of very hard and massive sand- 
stone, which has been greatly metamorphosed by the dynamic action to 
which it has been subjected. This narrow band forms a pronounced 
ridge, which has been cut through at its highest point by Deer Creek, 
exposing the hard sandstone in precipitous walls over 350 feet in 
height. This spot has long been known for its romantic beauty. The 
Baltimore & Lehigh Kailroad now passes through the gorge, where there 
is a station known as " The Kocks." The stone is a nearly pure quartz 
sandstone, in places plainly conglomeratic, and contains more or less 
white mica (muscovite), chlorite and kyanite, which are products of 
secondary crystallization due to metamorphism. The whole occurrence 
presents a striking resemblance to Wills Mountain, Buckingham county, 
Va., described by W. B. Rogers.f The geological age of this Harford 
county sandstone is not definitely known, but from its relation to the 
Peach Bottom slates it seems probable that it is highly altered Cambrian. 

* Stones for Building and Decorations, 1891, p. 262. 
\ Geology of the Virginias, 1884. 



132 MARYLAND. 

The fire-proof qualities of this micaceous sandstone have long been 
recognized, and it has been frequently employed for hearth-stones and 
furnaces. Quite recently a company has been organized to develop it as 
a building stone, basing their claims for its success on the inexhaustible 
supply, hardness, durability, white color and fire-proof qualities. This 
corporation is called the " Maryland Granite Company," although their 
stone is neither in character, origin nor appearance even remotely 
related to granite. Their capital is $200,000, and they are erecting 
improved machinery for the extraction and shipment of the product. 

Cambrian Sandstone. The Cambrian sandstone, which forms the 
base of the Paleozoic series, occurs in an unaltered condition in Sugar- 
Loaf, Catoctin and Blue Mountains. It is quarried for local use by rail- 
roads, canals and road commissioners, and to a small extent for building. 
At the south end of Sugar Loaf Mountain, near Dickerson Station, it was 
employed for bridges, aqueducts and culverts by the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad and by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. On the farm of Mr. 
Belt, near this place, a beautiful white sandstone has been opened which 
seems worthy of further development. The Western Maryland Railroad 
has used this sandstone in Catoctin Mountain above Mechanicstown. 

Medina and Orishany Sandstone. The only other sandstone quar- 
ries in Maryland that deserve mention are near Cumberland, in Alleghany 
county. Will's Mountain, to the west of the city, is composed of compact 
white Medina sandstone, overlying the lower red Medina. The white 
sandstone is 500 feet thick. It was obtained from detached boulders, for 
steps, curbs and architectural trimmings, but was not regularly quarried 
until 1891, when Messrs. Beale Brothers opened the stone in the Cumber- 
land Narrows above the railroad. Their production during 1892 was: 

Building Stone 1,860 cubic yards $1,860.00 

Gannister 4,692 tons 1,642.00 

Ballast 660 cubic yards 330.00 

Prof. C. P. Chandler states that this rock contains 98.35 per cent, of 
silica. Another sandstone which has been quarried at Cumberland, 
belongs to the Oriskany horizon. This is of a yellow color, and while 
often soft and pliable, yields hard and compact layers which are suitable 
for building stone. The Methodist Episcopal church in Cumberland is 
constructed of this stone, and it shows admirable resistance to atmos- 
pheric action. 

Archaean Quartz-Schist. In Baltimore County a foliated quartz-schist 
occurs along the edge of the marble belts, (p. 37). It is a hard resistant 
rock and therefore forms prominent ridges. Though it belongs to the 
most ancient part of Maryland and forms one of the holocrystalline 
series, it was probably once a sandstone. It is divided by parallel layers 



MINES AND MINERALS. 133 

of mica into thin slabs, which are covered with curiously broken and 
stretched black tourmaline crystals.* It is quarried along the southern 
edge of the Green Spring valley, and employed for foundation or flagstones. 



One of the best known roofing-slate regions in the United States is 
that called the Peach Bottom district in Lancaster and York counties, 
Pa., and Harford county, Md. The slate belt forms a narrow zone which 
begins a short distance east of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster 
county and passes in a southwest direction through the southeastern 
corner of York county, terminating near Pylesville, on the Baltimore 
and Lehigh Railroad, Maryland. The age of these slates has been 
determined, upon fossil evidence, to be that of the Hudson River horizon 
of the Lower Silurian.f They form a narrow, overturned synclinal fold 
in the centre of the tongue of semi-crystalline rocks which extends from 
Pennsylvania at the Susquehanna River to the neighborhood of Finks- 
burg, Carroll county. (See geological map.) 

The slates of the Peach Bottom region were worked as early as 
Revolutionary times, and show almost no change after an exposure of 
one hundred years. One old mine was formerly operated in Lancaster 
county, Pa., but at present almost all the active quarries are in Harford 
county, Md. They are for the most part owned by persons who superin- 
tend them and who reside at, or near Delta, Pa. The slate companies are 
so constantly changing hands and undergoing reorganization that it is 
impossible to give any connected account of their history. In 1880 Prof. 
Persifor Frazer gave quite an extended account of these quarries in his 
report on the geology of Lancaster county-t He enumerates eight 
quarries as then in operation in Maryland. The 10th U. S. census gives 
the slate production of Maryland for the year ending May 31, 1880, as 
12,280 squares, valued at $56,700.§ In this production the State was fifth, 
being exceeded only by Pennsylvania, Vermont, New York and Maine. 
The statistics of the 11th U. S. census place Maryland's slate production 
for tlie year 1889, from five quarries, at 23,029 squares, with total value 
of $110,009. In this she was exceeded only by Pennsylvania, Vermont, 
Maine, New York and Virginia.|| 

At the present time there are in operation in the Peach Bottom belt 
in Harford county six quarries. 

The Peerless Slate Company, E. M. Aiken, president, have large 
quarries near the Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad. Cambria, Md., is their 

* See Guide Book ' ' Baltimore, ' ' issued for the Am. Institute of Mining Engineers, Feb. 1892. 
tTrans. Am. Inst. Mining Eng. Vol. XII, p. 355, 1S83. 

Second Geol. Surv. Summary Final Report. Vol. I, p. 617, 1893. 
ISecond Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Report CCC, Lancaster Co. , 1880, pp. 183-190. 
§Mineral Resources of the U.S., by Albert Williams. U. S. Geol. Surv., Washington, 1883, p. 452. 
!l Mineral Industries of the U. 6. at the 11th census, by D. T. Day, Washington, 1893, p. 663. 



134 MARYLAND. 

shipping point, and Delta, Pa., their office. Their product is shipped all 
over the United States, and for the past three years has been as follows : 

Squares. Value. Mantels. Tubs, &c. Tota , 

1890 5,225 $24,446 $3,138 $27,584 

1891 7,293 35,916 3,169 39,085 

1892 7,433 36,600 3,183 39,783 

The Excelsior Slate Company, R. L. Jones, president, now operate the 
property formerly owned by W. A. McLaughlin and known as the Eureka 
quarry. The present corporation commenced operations August, 1891, 
and from that time until the end of 1892 they produced 6,322 squares of 
slate, valued at $31,658. 

The York and Peach Bottom Slate Company, A. S. Edy, president, 
produced about 8,000 squares of slate per annum. They were succeeded 
November, 1892, by Herr & Bennett, who are now operating these 
quarries. 

The Cambria Slate Company, owned by V. G. Stubbs & Son, produced 
1,100 squares of slate in 1891 and 920 squares in 1892. 

The Harford Peach Bottom Slate Company, J. Humphrey, president, 
and the Proctor Brothers' Slate Company, are the other owners of Harford 
county quarries, but their production has not been ascertained. 

Another deposit of roofing-slate occurs near Ijamsville, on the Main 
Stem of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, in Frederick county. Quarries 
were opened there over sixty years ago, but were never extensively 
worked. This property has recently been purchased by Edward Pels, 
of Baltimore, who intends to develop it more extensively in the near 
future. 

MABBLE AND LIMESTONE. 

The deposits of marble and limestone, which are abundant in the 
central and western portions of Maryland, differ widely in geological age 
and lithological character. As a result of this they have naturally been 
applied to a variety of different usee. The most important of these are 
as follows: Building stone, decorative stone, flux, commercial lime for 
plaster and agricultural purposes, hydraulic cement, and an ingredient of 
asphalt paving blocks. 

There is no limestone in eastern Maryland, nor in any of the State's 
geological formations younger than the trias. The oldest limestones are 
the most coarsely and perfectly crystalline, teeing white marbles; those 
of the western or semi-crystalline portion of the Piedmont Plateau, are 
fine-grained, compact, and often variegated marbles, while those of the 
valleys farther west are but little altered, blue, fossiliferous limestones. 

Building Stone. The most valuable of Maryland's limestone deposits 
are the highly crystalline marbles of Baltimore County. Reference to 



MINES AND MINERALS. 135 

the geological map will show that these rocks have an extensive develop- 
ment in a series of narrow belts to the north and west of Baltimore. 
The only locality, however, which is economically important, is the 
broad belt which extends from Lake Roland northward to Cockeysville, 
and which is traversed by the Northern Central Railroad. Marble is 
extensively quarried at Texas and to the west of Cockeysville, near the 
northern portion of this belt. At the first of these places it is obtained 
for burning or for flux, while the other, well known as the Beaver Dam 
Marble Quarries, has long been successfully operated for building stone. 
The marble at these two localities, so near each other and in the same 
geological formation, presents some marked differences. Chemically the 
Texas marble is a nearly pure carbonate of lime, while that from 
Cockeysville is a dolomite. The long series of analyses which are con- 
stantly being made of the Texas rock by the Maryland Steel Company, 
where it is used as a flux, show that it does not average over five per 
cent, of carbonate of magnesia; a number of analyses of the Beaver 
Dam product, on the other hand, give the average amount of this sub- 
stance as high as forty per cent. This discrepancy is as remarkable 
as it is unexpected. Another contrast is shown by the marbles of these 
two localities in their relative coarseness of crystallization. The Texas 
stone is coarsely crystalline, often so markedly so as to procure for it 
the special designation " alum stone." This renders it nearly worthless 
for building purposes, since its crushing strength is very small. The 
Beaver Dam rock is compact, hard, fine-grained and proportionately 
strong. There is also some of the finer-grained rock at Texas, where an 
attempt is now being made to develop it for a building stone. 

The quarries now operated by the Beaver Dam Marble Company, 
near Cockeysville, Baltimore County, have been worked for over seventy- 
five years. The marble used in the construction of the Washington 
Monument in Baltimore was taken from this locality as early as 1819. 
One^of the first owners of this marble property was John Baker, who did 
much toward developing it. At his death it passed into the hands of his 
son-in-law, James B. Connelly, who left it to his sons, Messrs. J. B. and 
T. F. Connelly. It was acquired by its present owners, the Beaver Dam 
Company, of which Mr. Hugh Sisson is president, about fifteen years ago. 
The product of this locality, where there are two or three quarries, is a 
finely saccharoidal dolomite of great compactness and durability. It 
contains occasional accessory minerals which represent old impurities 
which have crystallized as silicates. The most common of these is a 
copper-colored mica in small scales (phlogopite), which occurs in 
horizontal bands representing the original bedding of the rock. Other 
minerals, like quartz, tremolite, etc., present occasional defects in the 



136 MAEYLAND. 

stone and obstructions to working it. They are popularly known as 
"flint." 

The company employs about 200 men and has a large plant of the 
most improved machinery. The marble occurs in nearly horizontal beds 
and in quarrying, channelling machines are used to saw out the blocks. 
By means of diamond drills and wedges these blocks are then lifted free. 
In this manner blocks twenty- eight by ten by three feet have been 
quarried entire.* 

Such blocks are, however, too large to be transported, and are usually 
broken up. The largest single pieces shipped from the quarries were 108 
columns each twenty-six feet long, which were used in the Capitol at 
"Washington. The greater portion of the stone is now dressed before 
shipping, as the company has a large saw-mill at the quarry. 

The U. S. Government tests, made by Lieut.-Col. Q. A. Gilmore, show 
that for durability and strength it is unequalled, its compressive strength 
being 22,416 pounds to the square inch, which is greater than that of any 
other marble or limestone, while its absorption of water is so slight as to 
be practically nothing. It is of fine-grained texture and of a clear white 
color, and is quite free from discoloring agents. This fact, together with 
its non-absorbent qualities, establishes the durability and permanency 
of its color. 

The stone has been quite popular with architects and builders and 
has been very largely used, especially in the cities of Baltimore, Wash- 
ington and Philadelphia. Perhaps the most practical test which has 
been made of the strength of this marble was its use as material for the 
Washington Monument, Washington, D. C, the highest stone structure 
in the world. In this monument 163,724 cubic feet of Cockeysville 
marble were used, at a total cost of $221,275.02. As an instance of the 
superiority of this marble, it might be mentioned that in the Metropoli- 
tan Club, of New York, 40,000 cubic feet of this stone were used, all of 
the very finest quality. The Peabody Institute, in Baltimore, shows the 
stone to good advantage. Among other buildings in which it has been 
used maybe mentioned: U. S. Postoffi.ee, at Washington; Maryland Club, 
Rialto Building, City Hall, Eutaw Place Baptist Church, Brown Memo- 
rial Church, etc., in Baltimore; Drexel and Penn Mutual Insurance 
Buildings, in Philadelphia; the spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New 
York, etc. 

The output for the years 1889-'91 was as follows: 

Cubic Feet. Value. 

1889 277,000 $119,675.00 

1890 280,000 130,000.00 

1891 220,000 106,000.00 

* Merrill: The collection of building and ornamental stones in the U. S. National Museum, p. 378. ' 



MINES AND MINERALS. 137 

Beside the marble furnished for building purposes, large amounts are 
used for doorsteps, lintels, facings, flags, rubble, ballast, etc. 

In June, 1892, Messrs. L. B. McCabe & Bro. took charge of a quarry- 
located at Texas, which had before been worked only for rough stone to 
be burnt into lime, and proceeded to develop it for building stone. Since 
then a force of thirty-five men, with improved machinery, has been 
employed, mostly in preparatory work, in the course of which some 3,000 
tons (value $15,000) of rough stone have been taken out and used in the 
Belt Line tunnel. The stone is to be used in the construction of the 
North Avenue viaduct. Stones of large dimensions can be easily obtained, 
and have already been quarried here 32 feet 2 inches by 3 feet 10 inches 
without a flaw or crack. The marble is a little coarser grained than 
that obtained at Cockeysville, and is easily worked. 

Other limestones quarried in Maryland for building stones have only 
a local use. The blue Trenton limestone of the Cumberland Valley is 
used in Hagerstown to some extent, where the Protestant Episcopal and 
Methodist Episcopal churches are good examples. In other localities in 
Harford, Carroll and Frederick counties, where good limestone occurs, it 
is often seen in buildings. 

Decorative Stones. The marbles of Maryland have never yet been 
applied to any extent for the purpose of interior decoration, although 
some of the finer grained and compact varieties from Carroll and Fred- 
erick counties compare favorably in their quality, texture and beautiful 
veining with well-known marbles from Vermont and Tennessee. In the 
Wakefield valley, west of Westminster, a beautifully mottled red and 
white marble occurs ; others with a black and white, grey and white, or 
blue and white veining occur near New Windsor and Union Bridge. 
These stones would seem to be deserving of more attention than they 
have heretofore received. 

Another stone which may be classified as a limestone on account of 
the high percentage of lime which it contains, is the conglomerate or 
breccia of triassic age found in the Frederick valley. It is known as 
" Calico rock " or " Potomac marble," and has received one noteworthy 
application as a decorative stone in the old Hall of Eepresentatives in 
the Capitol, where it forms a series of beautiful columns. This stone 
was first brought into notice by Benj. H. Latrobe, who observed it in the 
Loudon Hills, Virginia. It occurs well exposed at Washington Junction, 
Frederick county, and extends northward along the base of Catoctin 
Mountain as far as Frederick and beyond. It consists of large angular 
and sub-angular fragments, mostly of the Trenton limestone, although 
many other rocks like quartz, slate, granite, porphyry, etc., also occur, 
imbedded in a red ferruginous cement. The unequal hardness of its 
components and the readiness with which they become detached from 



138 MARYLAND. 

the cement makes the working and polishing of the stone difficult, and 
has interfered with its general application. 

A quarry of very compact, even-grained and pure cream white marble 
was opened just below Edgemont Station, in Washington county, on the 
east side of the Hagerstown valley, but it has never been adequately 
developed. The quality of this stone seems to be very good. 

Flux. Limestone and marble is largely obtained in Maryland as 
flux for blast furnaces. The largest industry of this sort is at Texas, 
Baltimore county, where the Standard Lime and Stone Company of 
Buckeystown, Frederick county (Daniel Baker, President), have a lar^e 
quarry, from which they ship on an average 400 tons daily to the 
Maryland Steel Company, at Sparrow's Point. The Catoctin Iron 
Furnace, in Frederick county, formerly obtained its flux from extensive 
limestone quarries at Cavetown, on the Western Maryland Railroad, on 
the opposite side of the Blue Ridge. 

Quicklime for commercial and agricultural purposes. Before trans- 
portation facilities had become as numerous and cheap in Maryland as 
they are now, the numerous limestone deposits were largely quarried for 
burning to supply a local demand. The demand is at present, however, 
more economically supplied by a concentration of this industry, and the 
old quarries and kilns scattered so widely over the country are for the 
most part abandoned. The most extensive lime burning in Maryland is 
done at Texas, Baltimore county, where Mr. Parks, the principal ope- 
rator, estimates the average yearly production of the twenty kilns at 
200,000 bushels, having a value of $28,000. Most of this is building 
lime. A good deal of lime was formerly burned at Loch Raven for white- 
washing purposes, and sent to the Baltimore market. This has, how- 
ever, recently declined, and in 1892 not more than 5,000 bushels were 
produced. 

The burning of limestone for agricultural purposes is still carried 
on to a considerable extent in the Frederick valley. The stone isj 
however, too much covered with overlying soil, to be economically 
worked. The best deposits are nearly exhausted. Some of the largest 
companies of this region have transferred their operations to more 
favorably located deposits situated outside the State. Mr. Daniel Baker, 
President of the Standard Lime and Stone Company, makes the following 
statement: "The largest limestone deposits of the State of Maryland 
have been worked to their most profitable point, and beyond ; sufficient 
remains, inaccessible for quarrying, to make a large area of land valuable 
for farming purposes." 

The limestone quarries, near Westminster and New Windsor, as well 
as those near Cavetown, still furnish some stone for burning. 



MIKES AND MINERALS. 139 

CEMENT. 

Hydraulic cement is manufactured at three points within the State 
of Maryland. The two oldest and most productive of these — Cumber- 
land and Hancock — obtain their material from the Silurian limestone 
beds called Lower Helderberg (" Water-lime group " of New York State), 
while the third has its quarries in the older Trenton limestone beds of 
the Cumberland valley, near Sharpsburg. 

Hydraulic cement was first manufactured at Cumberland in 1836, and 
its production is now carried on by the Cumberland Hydraulic Cement and 
Manufacturing Company. Their quarries are on the south bank of Wills' 
Creek, where the Helderberg rocks are finely exposed, and where a series 
of natural folds in the beds allow of the easy and convenient working of 
the rock. The product has an excellent reputation for quality, strength 
and durability, and is largely employed in government and railroad 
works. It is used pure, as concrete, mortar or grout. The production of 
these works has varied greatly. According to the 10th U. S. census it 
was in 1880 only 4,000 barrels, while in 1890 it was 137,540, in 1891 
124,194, and in 1892 157,038 barrels. 

The Potomac Cement Company of Cumberland has recently constructed 
a mill with a capacity of 500 barrels per day. A large body of cement 
rock of first-rate quality near the city has not as yet been developed. 

The hydraulic cement works near Hancock, Md., are now operated 
by Bridges & Henderson. The rock is the same as that quarried at 
Cumberland, and it is here also folded so as to be conveniently and 
economically obtained. The works and quarries are on the Chesapeake 
& Ohio Canal at a place called Round Top, about three miles southwest 
of Hancock. 

This deposit of cement rock was first discovered by Mr. A. B. 
McFarlan in 1837. This gentleman was then engaged in the construction 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and recognized the valuable quality 
of this material for the work in hand. It was used in the construc- 
tion of aqueducts along this part of the canal, and afterward in the 
Capitol extension in Washington. 

From their discovery till 1862 the Round Top cement works were 
operated by Mr. George Shafer. At this time they were purchased by 
Bridges & Henderson, who still manage them. They employ seventy-five 
men and have a capacity of 300 barrels daily. Their product is shipped 
in barrels, bags and sacks, containing 300, 100 and 50 pounds respectively. 
During the past three years it has averaged 60,000 barrels per annum. 

The only manufacturers of cement from the Trenton limestone in 
Maryland are the Antietam Cement Company, whose headquarters are 
at Hagerstown. This rock is, however, extensively employed for this 
purpose farther north in Pennsylvania and near Shepherdstown, W. Va. 



140 MARYLAND. 

This company commenced operations in 1888. Their quarries are on the 
Chespeake and Ohio Canal, a few hundred yards from the bridge of the 
Norfolk and Western Railroad over the canal and river. They therefore 
belong to the Shepherdstown cement region. This company now sells 
about 20,000 barrels annually. 

ASPHALT BLOCKS. 

One of the uses to which Maryland limestone has been applied in 
the last few years is in the manufacture of asphalt blocks for street 
paving. These blocks are composed of crushed and pulverized lime- 
stone, Trinidad asphalt, and a residuum of petroleum, heated separately, 
thoroughly mixed and combined under heavy pressure. Hard limestone 
is crushed and pulverized until it will all pass through a screen of |-inch 
mesh, about one-third of the whole being reduced to powder. This stone 
is then heated to about 260° Fahrenheit, and is thoroughly mixed with 
10 per cent, of its own weight of Trinidad asphaltum, heated to 280° 
Fahrenheit. The limestone dust combines with the liquid asphalt, form- 
ing a bituminous and calcareous cement, with which all the larger 
particles of stone are coated. The material is finally delivered to the 
press at a sufficiently high temperature to cause all the particles to 
adhere one to another when subjected to the heavy presssure, thereby 
producing a practically homogeneous and solid block. The pressure 
applied to each block is not less than one hundred tons. The blocks 
are transferred from the press to a bath of cold water, from which they 
are taken and piled into stock for use. 

These blocks are used for street and sidewalk pavements, and have 
important advantages in that they are durable, comparatively noiseless, 
non-absorbent, smooth, do not become slippery when wet, and are con- 
siderably cheaper than granite blocks. 

They have been laid and are used extensively throughout the 
country, but especially in Washington and Baltimore. There are about 
300,000 square yards of street pavement of this kind in Washington and 
about 200,000 square yards in Baltimore, as well as a large amount of 
private work. 

The factory of this company, known as the Maryland Pavement 
Company, was erected at Fulton Station, Baltimore, in 1882, and for the 
first five years manufactured about one and a half million blocks each 
year, and since then about three million blocks per year. The com- 
pany owns quarries near Westminster Md., from which they took in 
1892 about 15,000 tons of limestone. In addition to this they used a 
large quantity of limestone from other quarries in the State. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 141 

SERPENTINE. 

This rock, wlricli from the earliest times has been highly prized for 
architectural and decorative purposes, is essentially a hydrous silicate of 
magnesia and iron. It is, moreover, always the product of alteration of 
other minerals, but itself possesses the two valuable properties of beauty 
and permanence. Serpentine is classified commercially with marble, 
because serpentine deposits often occur in, or associated with marble. 
The two rocks are, however, in composition, appearance and generally in 
origin, quite distinct. The serpentine, which occurs in large masses 
suitable for quarrying, is very impure. It contains many other minerals 
in varying proportions, which produce, in the stones of different locali- 
ties, a wide range of hardness, color and general appearance. Serpentine 
is employed sometimes as a building stone and sometimes is polished for 
interior decoration 

An extensive development of lenticular serpentine beds stretches 
along the east flank of the Appalachians, from Vermont to North Caro- 
lina. It is quarried at many points. In southeastern Pennsylvania, 
especially in Chester county, serpentine is obtained for building and is 
extensively employed in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington for 
this purpose. The serpentine at present obtained in Maryland is used 
only for decorative purposes. 

The principal quarry of the State is on Broad Creek, near Dublin, in 
Harford county. The rock is here of remarkable hardness and beauty. 
Blocks and slabs of large size can be sawn out, and are capable of a fine 
lustrous polish. Its color is a rich emerald green, semi-transparent, and 
clouded with darker streaks by included magnetite. It is of the variety 
sometimes called precious serpentine. The product of this quarry is 
called verd antique, although in the strict sense, this is not correct. A 
full geological and chemical report was made on this stone in 1875 by 
Prof. F. A. Genth, of the University of Pennsylvania, for the Green 
Serpentine Marble Company of Harford county. In 1880 extensive 
preparations were made for developing the quarry and introducing the 
stone. In spite of its durability and beauty, these have, however, been 
only partially successful because of the hardness of the material and the 
expense of extracting and polishing it. Still it has been used for the 
interior decoration of several large buildings in New York, Philadelphia, 
Washington, Wilmington, St. Augustine, and elsewhere. This property 
has changed hands a number of times within the past ten years. The 
Serpentine Company of Harford county, with headquarters at Wilming- 
ton, Del., operated it between 1888 and 1890, but at present it is inactive. 

There are several other deposits of serpentine which may become 
productive, though, at the present time, only preliminary examinations 
of them have been made. Near Eock Spring, in the northern part of 



142 MARYLAND. 

Cecil county, there is a deposit of semi-transparent or precious serpen- 
tine. A quarry was opened, not long since, near Cambria, in the Peach 
Bottom slate region, in the northern part of Harford county, while the 
stone is abundant near Cooptown and Jarrettsville, in the same county. 
Just north of Baltimore city, on the Falls road, near Cold Spring avenue, 
serpentine is quarried for road ballast, and a few miles beyond, at the 
Bare Hills, near Lake Roland, it has recently been explored, to a con- 
siderable extent, with the intention of producing it for decorative 
purposes. The Lake Chrome and Mineral Company have a quarry there, 
with machinery for cutting and polishing it. Just to the west of their 
property Mr. McCoglan has also made three borings, with a circular 
drill, which have furnished cores of satisfactory stone to a depth of 100 
feet. Near the Northern Central Railroad, at Whitehall, some Chicago 
parties have recently made some openings for the purpose of ascertaining 
the quality of the serpentine there. 

Serpentine is also abundant at the "Soldier's Delight," west of 
Owings' Mills, and through Montgomery county, but it has as yet been 
only explored in these regions with reference to chrome ore. 

SOAPSTONE. 

Soapstone is a compact variety of talc, a hydrous magnesia silicate, 
which has many applications in the arts. It is produced in New Hamp- 
shire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Vermont and Maryland. 
According to the statistics of the eleventh census, Maryland's production 
was in 1889, 432 short tons, valued at $4,321. 

The only productive quarry in Maryland was opened in the fifties, 
in Carroll county, one and one-half miles northwest of Marriottsville. 
The stone is of a good quality and was sawed into slabs by the old 
company for the manufacture of bath-tubs. It did not pay, however, 
and in 1860 was abandoned. 

In 1885 the present "Maryland Soapstone Company" commenced to 
operate this quarry with the intention of also sawing the stone. As it 
was found that this could not be done with profit, the product is now for 
the most part ground and sold to manufacturers of fire-proof and acid- 
proof paints. Some slabs are, however, sawed out for fire-brick and 
hearthstones. The product of this quarry in 1892 was 372 short tons, 
valued at $1,860. 

Other occurrences of soapstone are known to exist, but they are as 
yet undeveloped. At Indian Hill, two miles northwest of Washington, 
such a bed occurs and others near Tennallytown, and on the Woodley 
Lane road.* A soapstone quarry was also opened on the property of the 
Serpentine Company, of Harford county, but it has never been developed. 

* G. P. Merrill: Handbook of building-stones in the National Museum, 1889, p. 3B8. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 143 

CLAY-WORKING- INDUSTRIES OF MARYLAND. 

Clays constitute an interesting and important feature of the economic 
geology of Maryland, and form the basis of industrial operations of con- 
siderable magnitude, embracing the manufacture of building brick, terra- 
cotta and tile-work, fire-brick and pottery. The workable deposits of 
clays suitable for building brick extend over a large area of the State, 
but are of more particular interest in the eastern section, where the 
existence of the principal markets has induced the most extensive 
development. As Baltimore is the chief city and the centre of the most 
populous section of the State, it naturally is also the centre of the largest 
brick-making industry, this being made more readily possible by the 
presence of an abundance of building-brick clay of superior quality in 
the city and its immediate suburbs. Building bricks are manufactured 
at numerous other points in Maryland, but as the industry has reached 
its largest development in Baltimore and vicinity, a consideration of the 
conditions there existing will suffice for the State at large. Brick- 
making has been an industry of consequence in Baltimore nearly as long 
as the city has existed, and several of the present firms have been in 
business since the early years of this century. There are about forty 
yards now in operation, and their annual output of brick of all kinds 
averages 150,000,000. The larger portion of this product enters into 
local consumption, although there is a considerable trade with cities 
further south on the coast. 

The clays from which Baltimore bricks are made belong to the 
Columbia formation, which appears in the northeastern section of the 
city, between northwest harbor and Middle Branch and southeast of Mt. 
Clare, and the Potomac formation, which is most prominent in the south- 
west section and beyond, especially about Orangeville and on the hills 
north of Camden Junction. The Columbia formation presents its usual 
characteristics, consisting of yellow to brown loam or clay, grading 
downward into gravel or boulders. The bricks made from this clay in 
Baltimore resemble the bricks made from the Columbia clays in Eastern 
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Southwest of Baltimore the Potomac 
clays outcrop and are prominent in a broad belt across the State. The 
beds of Potomac clay in the southwestern part of the city Avere the first 
to be worked, and the exhaustion of the beds within the city proper is 
gradually moving the industry into the suburbs. A ridge of iron-ore 
clay, a short distance outside of the city, is being largely worked at 
present with excellent results. This clay is very strong, stiff and close, 
and it carries good deal of carbonate of iron in nodules and lumps. The 
iron ore is picked out and sold to the few old charcoal iron furnaces in 
the vicinity that continue their dependence upon this ore. The bricks 
made from this iron-ore clay are exceedingly heavy, tough and close 



144 MARYLAND. 

grained, and but slightly porous. Owing to the weight and stiffness 
of this clay the manufacturers of these bricks assert that it costs 
more to make them than any other bricks of corresponding quality 
made from other clays. Experiments have been made with common 
rough red bricks made from this iron-ore Potomac clay to determine 
their utility for paving purposes. Although no record has been kept it is 
stated that these bricks have given satisfactory results in this service. 
Bricks made from this clay have been used in large quantities for the 
lining of the Belt Line tunnel, which passes underneath Baltimore. 

The brick-yards about Baltimore are well equipped with modern 
methods and appliances, most of the brick being made by machinery. 
Bituminous coal is used for firing the kilns. 

The manufacture of fire-brick has been one of the characteristic 
industries of Maryland for fifty years, and the brick made from the 
carboniferous fire-clays of Alleghany county, in the western part of the 
State, still rank as the best in this country. The oldest fire-brick concern 
in Allegany county, that at Mount Savage, was organized in 1841, and 
was the first of its kind in the United States. Originally the works at 
this point embraced two blast furnaces and a rolling-mill, the immediate 
vicinity furnishing all the requisite raw material for these industries; but 
the furnaces and mill were abandoned years ago, while the manufacture 
of fire-brick has developed into a large industry. The town of Mount 
Savage lies nine miles west of Cumberland, at the foot of Savage 
Mountain, which is owned by the Union Mining Company, the principal 
fire-brick manufacturers in this locality. The bed of fire-clay lies at the 
bottom of the coal measures of this basin. Above the clay lies an 
eight-inch bed of coal, beneath is a bed of shale, three to four inches in 
thickness, underneath which comes the conglomerate rock marking the 
boundary of this basin. The clay bed ranges from eight to twenty feet 
in thickness, and is divided into two varieties designated as the hard and 
soft. The hard clay is of a gray color, shading almost to black ; it is 
non-plastic unless ground to an impalpable powder, and disintegrates but 
little under exposure to the weather. The soft clay is very plastic, much 
lighter in color, and crumbles rapidly under atmospheric influence. A 
peculiar feature of this deposit is the intimate intermixture of the two 
varieties of clay in the same bed. 

The composition of the Mount Savage clay shows considerable varia- 
tion, the following analysis from the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology being fairly representative : 

Silica 50.457 

Alumina 35.904 

Protoxide of Iron 1.504 

Lime 133 

Magnesia , 018 

Potash Trace. 

Water and Organic Matter 12.774 



MINES AND MINERALS. 145 

An average of several analyses by different chemists shows the 
following result : 

Silica 55.75 

Alumina 33.23 

Impurities 2.06 

Water 10.37 

The impurities in this clay are fewer and smaller in amount than in 
most other fire-clays. Nodules of iron ore occasionally appear in the 
bottom of the bed, but they are easily detected and removed. The two 
most valuable characteristics of the Mount Savage clay are its freedom 
from potash, which is one of the most objectionable constituents in 
fire-clay, and the large proportion of silica to alumina, which causes the 
brick to swell slightly, instead of shrinking, during hard burning. 

The mines from which the clay is taken are high up on the side of 
Savage Mountain, about three and a quarter miles from the factory, with 
which they are connected by an inclined plane a mile and a quarter long 
and by a tram road. The output averages 5,000 tons of clay per month, 
and a stock of 30,000 to 40,000 tons is kept weathering in the yards at the 
works. The brick plant embraces two complete factories and two gas- 
fired kilns, each of a capacity of 500,000 bricks. The bricks are all made 
by hand, and include every shape and size that is required. Bricks made 
from the fire-clays of this region are used very largely for blast furnace, 
hot-blast stove linings, and other uses in iron works. In addition to the 
extensive works at Mount Savage there are several other fire-brick plants 
in Allegany county, at Ellerslie, Frostburg and elsewhere, which depend 
upon the same seam of clay. In the eastern part of the State, in Baltimore 
and vicinity and at North East, Cecil county, there are several fire-brick 
factories. The source of the materials used is largely local, although the 
Mount Savage and other clays are also employed. The total amount of 
production of these factories amounts to about $100,000 annually. The 
same works produce in considerable amounts clay retorts, blocks and 
tiles, stove linings, chimney tops, drain pipe and fire cement. The 
largest producers of fire-bricks is the Baltimore Retort and Fire-Brick 
Company, with an annual output of 800,000. 

The clay beds of Baltimore and vicinity furnish a portion of the raw 
material for the manufacture of pottery, which has assumed considerable 
proportions in that city. While the local beds yield clay of sufficient 
fineness and freedom from iron ore to make it suitable for coarser grades 
of pottery, more distant sources of supply are drawn upon to furnish 
material for the finer grades of wares that are manufactured in Baltimore. 
The three substances used in porcelain manufacture are flint (vein quartz), 
feldspar and fine clay. Flint is obtained from Harford, Carroll and 
Howard counties, soda feldspar from Cecil county and potash feldspar 

10 



140 MARYLAND. 

from Delaware county, Pa. For the finer grades of ware, imported china 
clays are used. The oldest of the Baltimore potteries has been in opera- 
tion for nearly fifty years. There are now five concerns engaged in the 
manufacture of various grades of pottery, employing about 1,000 hands 
and yielding an annual product valued at about $1,000,000. The wares 
manufactured cover a wide range from heavy plumbers' goods to the finer 
grades of toilet and table ware. The industry is developing rapidly, and 
it promises to give Baltimore a world-wide reputation as a pottery manu- 
facturing centre. Among the more important pottery factories are the 
Chesapeake Potttery, operated by Haynes, Bennett & Co., and the Edwin 
Bennett Pottery. The finer products of these establishments have attained 
a high reputation. 

MINOR MINERAL PRODUCTS. 

There are several other mineral substances of more or less economic 
value which are either at present obtained in Maryland, or which have 
been previously worked here with varying results, according to the 
demand. None of these ever have, or probably ever will give rise to 
mineral industries of great magnitude, a fact which is in some cases due 
to the insufficient supply of material, while in other cases it is due to 
the very limited use of the substances in question. 

Porcelain Materials. Three prime requisites in the manufacture of 
porcelain are flint (vein quartz), feldspar, and china clay (kaolin). All 
these substances are found in Maryland, and they are all, but especially 
the first, obtained and shipped to the potteries of Trenton, N. J., and 
Baltimore. Large amounts of a pure granular or vitreous quartz occur 
as vein-filling through all the rocks of the highly crystalline belt in 
Maryland. It is especially abundant in Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Car- 
roll, Howard and Montgomery counties. At particular localities where 
the conditions are most favorable, this quartz is quarried and finely 
ground in mills constructed for the purpose. It is bolted as fine as flour 
and then shipped in sacks to the potters. This flint industry is most 
active in Harford county. The largest deposit is near Castleton, near the 
Susquehanna River, where a vein of pure quartz occurs wide enough to 
permit three parallel drifts being made into it, and where the supply 
seems to be large enough to meet all requirements. Other flint quarries 
and flint mills are situated near Deer Creek, in the same county, and 
another large one was actively worked a short time since about two and 
a-half miles north of Marriottsville, in Carroll county. According to the 
returns of the tenth U. S. census, Maryland was, in 1880, the foremost 
producer of flint among the States of the Union. Her product was in 
that year, 4,026 tons from five quarries in two counties, valued at 
$30,109. In 1889 her product was 8,632 tons, valued at $46,828. 



MINES AND MINERALS. 147 

The best feldspar and kaolin produced in the United States for por- 
celain is obtained within a radius of fifteen miles from the common 
corner of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. A good soda-feldspar 
occurs near Rising Sun, in Cecil county, Maryland. Silas J. Lane reports 
a good feldspar quarry at Rock Springs, Cecil county, from which in 
1892 he took 500 tons, valued at $3.00 per ton. Kaolin also occurs on the 
same farm, but these substances seem at present not to be so extensively 
produced as in Delaware county, Pa., and in Delaware. During 1880 
Cecil county produced 250 tons of kaolin, valued at $1,750. 

A considerable quantity of glass-sand has been produced in Anne 
Arundel county (tenth census says 17,125 tons in 1880, worth $34,250), and 
the same substance is now obtained by pulverizing the white Medina 
sandstone near Cumberland. 

Ochre or Mineral Paint. Mineral paint has from time to time been 
produced to a considerable extent from the brown iron ore deposits of 
Maryland. The most important producer has been the Catoctin iron 
mine, south of Mechanicstown, in Frederick county. This mine is 
reported to have yielded as much as 7,000 tons of ochre in one year, 
though this is probably a mistake. It is at present entirely inactive. 
Messrs. J. T. Whitehurst & Co., of Baltimore, have for three years been 
operating ochre mines in Carroll and Howard counties, in which they 
employ an average of thirty men. 

Asbestos. Within the most crystalline rocks of Maryland several 
deposits of asbestos occur, most of which, however, is not true asbestos, 
although it passes under that name, but the fibrous variety of serpen- 
tine known as chrysotile. These deposits are, in both quality and quantity 
of the product, inferior and unimportant. In 1880 one mine in Harford 
county and three mines in Baltimore county produced a total of forty 
tons, valued at $1,000 ; but the discovery of extensive deposits in other 
regions has now entirely stopped any operations for this mineral in 
Maryland. 

Lead and Zinc. Small traces of galena and zinc blende were early 
noticed near the quarries on Jones's Falls, in Baltimore. Much more 
decided indications of these metals occur in connection with the crystal 
line limestone belts in the western part of Carroll and eastern part 
of Frederick counties. Tyson, in his second annual report as State 
Agricultural Chemist in 1862, mentions argentiferous galena as having 
been discovered near Unionville, and at the Dollyhide copper mine, near 
Liberty, both in Frederick county. In 1881 Prof. Persifor Frazer, in a 
report on some copper deposits in limestone one and one-half miles ,=outh 
of New Windsor, in Carroll connty, mentions galena, zinc blende and 
manganese oxide as also occurring in the openings made for copper.* 

* Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Eng. Vol. IX, p. 33, 1881. 



148 MARYLAND. 

The writer has also observed frequent traces of lead and zinc in the 
limestone quarried near Linwood, a short distance further west. In 
1890 a deposit of galena long known to exist in the limestone on the 
farm of Miss Elizabeth Cox, some three miles southwest of Union Bridge, 
was opened at three places, and called the Mountain View Lead Mine. 
Operations on a small scale were carried on here for some time, but were 
subsequently discontinued. Tyson mentions (1862) the fact that oxide 
of zinc constantly accumulated in the upper part of the Catoctin 
furnaces, indicating the presence of this element either in the iron-ores 
or limestone used as a flux. This is interesting in connection with the 
recent discovery of franklinite associated with the specular iron-ore near 
Catoctin. In spite, however, of the frequent traces of lead and zinc 
through central Maryland, it may be confidently asserted that neither of 
these metals occurs in any amounts that will ever repay mining. 
This will be realized when it is considered with what extensive and 
rich deposits in the west any product must be brought into competition. 

Manganese, Antimony, Molybdenum. Although traces of these 
metals also have been detected in Maryland, they are even more insigni- 
ficant than those of lead and zinc. Manganese was once mined a short 
distance west of Brookville, in Montgomery county, but the deposit was 
not sufficiently extensive to be profitable. Frazer also mentions the 
same substance as occurring with copper, near New Windsor. Specimens 
of the pure sulphide of antimony have been obtained in the Middletown 
valley, but nothing is known of its occurrence or extent. The earliest 
record of molybdenite (sulphide of molybdenum), found on this conti- 
nent was made in 1811, at the Jones's Fall Gneiss Quarries. 

Mica and Graphite. In the coarse-grained granite dykes which 
abound in many parts of the eastern Piedmont region, good-sized plates 
of light-colored mica (muscovite) occur. Attempts have been made to 
secure commercially valuable amounts of this in both Harford and 
Howard counties, but they have not been successful. No outcrops have 
as yet been noticed in Maryland which promise to compete with the 
mica mines of North Carolina. 

Traces of graphite have been found near Pylesville, in Harford 
county, at the edge of the Peach Bottom slate belt. Similar deposits 
occur further northward, in Pennsylvania, where they have been mined 
to some extent. 

Diatomaceous Earth ■ {Infusorial Earth). Diatomaceous earth, 
known to the trade as infusorial earth, has been produced in larger 
quantities in Maryland than elsewhere in the United States. In 1889, 
according to the Eleventh Census Report upon Mineral Industries, Mary- 
land produced 3,040 tons out of the 3,466 tons worked that year. Of 
this amount 3,000 tons came from the Dunkirk district of the Patuxent 



MINES AND MINERALS. 149 

region, in Calvert county, and 50 tons from Pope's Creek, in Charles 
county. The value of the product was estimated at $10,700. 

The first diggings were opened on the Patuxent River in 1882. The 
material was first brought to Baltimore, where it was separated by a 
process of washing into different grades of polishing powder. Upon 
further investigation it was found to make an excellent non-conducting 
cover for steam pipes. It was, however, difficult to introduce the 
material into the market, and in 1884 the works passed into the 
hands of a New York company. In 1887 an excellent deposit was opened 
at Pope's Creek, and a considerable quantity was taken out prior to 1889. 
Since that time neither of the localities has been extensively worked. 

The deposit of diatomaceous earth is found near the base of the 
Miocene and extends across the State from northeast to southwest. It is 
best exposed at Herring Bay, on the Patuxent River, and at Pope's Creek. 
It frequently reaches 30 feet in thickness and is of unknown extent. 

An analysis of a specimen from Pope's Creek; made by P. de P. 
Rickets, of New York, is a follows : 

Silica 81.53 

Alumina 3.43 

Protoxide of iron 3.33 

Lime 2.61 

Magnesia, soda potash, sulphur and organic matter 5. 63 

Moisture 3.47 

100.00 

Sand. There is little statistical information to be obtained as to the 
economic importance of the sand deposits of the State. Beds of sand of 
greater or less volume are found in all the formations of the Coastal 
Plain, and are employed locally for building purposes. In recent years 
the sandy sediment on the bed of the Potomac has been dredged and 
used extensively in Washington. 

At the head of the Severn River, in Anne Arundel county, extensive 
diggings have been opened in the Lower Cretaceous, and a very pure grade 
of glass sand taken out. It is transported on small schooners, which are 
able at high tide to reach the head of the river. 

In 1880 the tenth census report gives the output at 17,125 tons, 
valued at $34,250. 

At Cumberland the Medina sandstone, which occurs in the vicinity, 
is ground up and employed for glass-making, the largest glass works in 
the State being situated there. 

Marl. The Eocene and Miocene formations of Maryland are rich in 
marl deposits. Those of the Eocene are green-sands not unlike the famous 
green-sand marls of New Jersey, which have been so extensively employed 
as fertilizers in the eastern and southern portions of that State. The 



150 MARYLAND. 

best Eocene marls in Maryland are found in Prince George's and Charles 
counties. The Miocene marls are also very abundant in the more south- 
ern and eastern portions of the State. An examination of the geological 
map will show the area of their distribution. In the volume upon the 
Mineral Resources of the United States for 1888 the following statement 
is made in regard to their uses: "Especially adapted to grasses and 
cereals, and used to some extent on tubers." A popular way of using it 
is in the form of a compost with barn-yard manure. 

The proportions of compost are variable, but generally one-third, by 
bulk, of marl to two-thirds manure. From 10 to 20 tons, and in some 
cases more, are used per acre. The method of application varies with the 
crop for which it is used ; with some it is broadcast, with others drilled 
in, and, with tubers, it is placed in the hill. 

The total product of marl in the United States from New Jersey, 
Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Arkansas in 1890 was 153,670 
tons, valued at $69,880, of which the greater proportion was from New 



Very little utilization of the marl has been thus far made in Mary- 
land. It could be employed by the farmers of the eastern and southern 
counties to good advantage. 

MINERAL WATERS. 

Although the mineral waters of Maryland have not in the past 
attracted attention, there are several kinds which are being placed at the 
present time, with greater or less success, upon the markets, and two, at 
least, which are being exported in considerable quantities. Several of the 
waters are represented as having valuable medicinal properties, while 
others are sold simply as table waters, chiefly in Baltimore city. Most 
of the mineral waters come from the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont 
Plateau, only a few having been reported up to the present time from 
the Appalachian region and the Coastal Plain. 

According to the eleventh census report, based upon information 
obtained in 1890, Maryland ranks thirteenth among the States in the num- 
ber of springs reported, and twenty-first in the volume of production. The 
amount utilized in that year from the Maryland springs is stated to be 
74,160 gallons, of a market value of $12,057. Since 1890 the waters from 
several new springs have come into the market, so that the importance 
of Maryland in the production of mineral waters has been very much 
increased. 

Mineral Waters of the Appalachian Region. A thermal spring of 
saline mineral water is situated at Flintstone, Alleghany county, on the 
Old National Turnpike, twelve miles to the east of Cumberland. In the 
eleventh census report on Mineral Industries it is classed as calcic in the 



MINES AND MINERALS. 151 

group of sulphated waters under saline springs. It is stated to have 174 
grains of mineral matter to the gallon. Only small quantities of the water 
have reached the market up to the present time, but attempts are being 
made to bring it to the notice of the public. 

There are numerous cold chalybeate springs scattered throughout 
Western Maryland, but there has been as yet very little attempt to intro- 
duce the waters or to develop the properties upon which they are 
situated. 

Mineral Waters of the Piedmont Plateau. Among the several 
springs situated in the Piedmont Plateau which produce marketable 
waters, some have a small percentage of mineral matter in solution, and 
are advertised mainly as pure table waters, while in the case of others 
the proportion of mineral matter is larger, and various medicinal uses 
are claimed for them. 

Among the various springs are the following : 

The Ohattolanee Spring is situated in Green Spring Valley, in 
Baltimore county. The water has been employed in Baltimore to some 
extent for table uses. 

Analysis of the Water. ' 

Grains per gallon. 

Sodium Chloride 0.2232 

Potassium Sulphate 0.1908 

Calcium Sulphate 0.0043 

Sodium Carbonate 0.0773 

Calcium Carbonate 3 . 5522 

Magnesium Carbonate 1 .2665 

Oxide of Iron and Alumina 0.0466 

Silica 0.5424 

5.9033 
Organic and Volatile Matter 0.7291 

Total 6.6324 

The Roland Spring is situated on Roland avenue, just north of the 
city of Baltimore. The water has only recently been put upon the 
market, but is already sold to a considerable extent. 

Analysis of the Water. 

Grains per gallon. 

Solids, volatile 2. 

Solids, mineral 6.50 

Total 8.50 

The Strontia Spring is situated in the Green Spring valley, in 
Baltimore county. The water is sold somewhat widely outside the limits 
of the State. 



152 MARYLAND. 

Analysis of the Water. 

In 100,000 parts. 

Nitrate of Potassium 4. 66 

Nitrate of Sodium 1.43 

Chloride of Sodium 12.87 

Chloride of Magnesium 6.72 

Chloride of Calcium 35.46 

Bicarbonate of Calcium 6.75 

Sulphate of Strontium 0.22 

Bicarbonate of Strontium 1.86 

Bicarbonate of Iron 0.88 

Alumina 1 . 86 

Silicic Acid 2.05 

Phosphoric Acid, Iodine, Ammonia and Organic Matter . . . Traces 

74.76 

In addition to the solid substances in solution, carbonic acid, oxyKen 

and nitrogen occur. 

The Lystra Spring is situated in the Green Spring valley, Baltimore 

county. For this water also there is a considerable demand. 

Analysis of the Water. 

Grains Per Gallon. 

Bicarbonate of Magnesia 18 . 468 

Bicarbonate of Lime 14.951 

Bicarbonate of Iron 1.111 

Sulphate of Lime 5.400 

Sulphate of Soda 1.377 

Sulphate of Potash 501 

Chloride of Sodium 588 

Alumina 2.700 

Silicic Acid 1.000 

Phosphoric Acid and Lithia Traces 

46.096 
In addition to the solid substances in solution, carbonic acid, oxygen 
and nitrogen occur. 

The Bentley Springs are situated in northern Baltimore county. 

Analysis of the Water. 

Grains Per Gallon. Grains Per Gallon. 

Carbonate of Lime 640 Carbonate of Lime 3380 

Carbonate of Magnesia 680 Carbonate of Soda 3700 

Carbonate of Soda 461 Carbonate of Magnesia 2650 

Carbonate of Iron 890 Sulphate of Lime 3040 

Chloride of Sodium 270 Chloride of Sodium 1910 

Sulphate of Lime 345 Silicic Acid 3280 

Silicic Acid . . • .435 Iron, Alumina and Loss 0200 

Alumina and Loss 025 



3.750 1.8160 
;anic Matter 910 Organic Matter 3690 

Total 4.660 Total 2.1850 



MINES AND MINERALS. 153 

There are several other mineral springs in the Piedmont region, 
around which summer resorts have sprung up. At Glencoe, Baltimore 
county, is a spring of considerable volume, with water similar to that of 
the Chattolanee Spring. At Cowentown, Cecil county, near the border 
of the Coastal Plain, a spring of mineral water is recorded in the 
Eleventh Census Report. A sulphur spring is also found in Carroll 
county, near Westminster. Many other mineral springs are found 
scattered over the Piedmont region, but little beyond local use has been 
made of them up to the present time. 

Mineral Waters of the Coastal Plain. Very few springs of mineral 
water, of more that local reputation, are reported from the Coastal Plain. 

Barron Creek Springs, in Wicomico county, was at one time a resort 
of some note, but is now quite abandoned. 

A flowing artesian well, at Cambridge, Dorchester county, furnishes 
a mineral water, which is much used by the citizens, and is somewhat 
widely known. 

Several other springs, which have only a local value, are reported 
from the eastern and southern counties. Among them is a sulphur 
spring situated at St. Michael's, Talbot county. 



CHAPTER V. 



AGKICULTUKE AND LIVE STOCK. v 

AGRICULTURE. 

The history of the development of agriculture in these older States, 
for at least two hundred years after their colonization, is intimately 
connected with the development of the social and political life and with 
the industrial and commercial prosperity, elsewhere treated in this 
volume. Grass, wheat, tobacco and corn have been, from the first, staple 
crops. 

The development of agriculture in Maryland, during the present 
century and until about fifteen or twenty years ago, does not differ 
essentially from that of other neighboring States, but within this latter 
period the agricultural lines have been changing for causes and in such 
directions as will be developed in the course of this chapter. 

There has been a very general and widespread depression in agricul- 
ture, which reached its greatest extent about ten or fifteen years ago. 
The prices of the old staple crops fell below the actual cost of produc- 
tion, at least in the poorer agricultural regions of the State, and yet 
these crops continued to be everywhere grown, partly from force of 
habit and tradition, and partly because it was not known what other 
crops could take their place. Already the beneficial effect of this great 
depression is being felt, and there are signs that the State is entering 
upon an era of unexampled agricultural prosperity. 

It will be well, therefore, to consider carefully the principal causes 
which led to this general depression, which has really proved a stimulus 
to better, more healthy and more stable conditions, and to sketch briefly 
the present condition of agriculture in the State and the direction it 
seems to be taking. 

RETROSPECT. 

The depression spoken of has been largely due to the wonderful 
revolution and advance which has completely changed the social and 
commercial conditions of the world. Agriculture, with its long seasons 
and slow methods, has not yet adapted itself to these changed conditions. 
Before the introduction of cheap and rapid transportation by means 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 155 

of steam cars and steamships, manufacturing industries were distributed 
in small shops throughout the rural communities, and the larger cities, 
forming both the trade and industrial centres, grew up along the coast 
or on the water courses, where the free access to the ocean offered an 
easy and a cheap means of bringing in food for the workers and of 
disposing of the manufactured goods. The city dwellers had to depend 
for their staple products upon what could be raised within a few days' 
hauling distance of the town; while the producers within this surround- 
ing area had to supply all the staple articles of food, and were sure to 
find a ready market for their products, as there was little competition 
from abroad. If these conditions had continued, Baltimore could never 
have grown to its present size, and there are a dozen towns and cities in 
this State which might have rivaled Baltimore except for the double 
advantage she has always had of water-power for manufacturing pur- 
poses, and of free communication by water with other countries and 
with a large portion of the State through the numerous water-ways 
leading out from the bay. 

"With the introduction of steam, however, these conditions have 
been entirely changed, and these limiting causes have been largely over- 
come. The city is no longer dependent for its food supply upon what 
can be raised in its immediate vicinity, nor is a country entirely depen- 
dent upon what can be raised within its own borders. Large areas have 
been opened up for the production of staple crops, and the amount 
annually produced has been enormously increased. Wheat can be raised 
and transported from the far West, and rice from the far East, cheaper 
than they can be produced here at home. Before the war both rice and 
cotton were grown in this State, to a limited extent, for home consump- 
tion, but it would scarcely pay to raise the former now, and it would 
certainly not pay to raise the latter. The prices of all our old staple 
crops have fallen below what many estimate to be the actual cost of 
production in many parts of the State where the soils are light and the 
yield per acre is low. 

This revolution has similarly affected all industries. The small 
manufacturers in the rural towns have found that their goods could be 
more cheaply manufactured by the larger concerns in the city, and they 
have been driven to the wall or have merged into the larger concerns. 
It seems hard and discouraging to the small manufacturers, but the 
country, as a whole, has never known such industrial prosperity as at 
present. Formerly one manufacturer might put out a variety of pro- 
ducts ; now there are great manufactories where nails and spikes alone 
are produced, others where railroad iron is turned out, others where 
boiler plates are rolled, others where engines are constructed, and others 
again where iron battle-ships are put together. No one manufacturer 



156 MARYLAND. 

attempts now, as formerly, to meet all the demands of industrial life, 
but makes a specialty of one narrow line which the state of the market, 
his surroundings, or his natural inclinations lead him into. 

There is need of the same business methods and the same business 
enterprise in agriculture as in the industrial arts, and our farmers are 
gradually learning this. They see that they cannot be guided so much 
by what their fathers did in the past as by what they see is needful for 
the present and for the prospective state of the market. We can no 
longer afford to grow the same variety of crops in all parts of the State. 
There are a great variety of soils in the State, and these different soils 
are best adapted to different crops and to different agricultural produc- 
tions. The adaptation of these soils to crop production must be well 
understood; the state and demands of the market must be carefully 
studied, considering at all times the possibility of being able to create 
new or larger demands ; the peculiar locality and surroundings must be 
considered, such as nearness of the market and the ease and cost of trans- 
portation. The chief energies of the farm must be given to the one line 
suggested by the adaptation of the soil, the state of the market and the 
personal bent of the producer, whether it be the production of staple 
crops, of fruit, of truck, of stock, or the dairy interests. Wheat used to 
be raised on nearly all farms as a matter of course, whether it yielded 
ten bushels per acre or forty. Lands which produce less than fifteen 
bushels of wheat per acre are not now considered productive, and they 
cannot compete with the grain-producing area of the West. These light 
lands, which formerly were considered nearly worthless for agricultural 
purposes, have now the highest market value for the production of early 
truck and of fruit, and the acreage of wheat, corn and tobacco has very 
greatly diminished in the past ten years. 

Agriculture is very slow and its methods must needs be conservative. 
It takes about a year for the results of an experiment or the change of a 
method to be known, and much longer than this for any change or 
improvement, based on this experiment or on the changing conditions of 
the market, to be generally felt. With its slow methods it is usually 
about twenty-five years behind any marked industrial advance, and it is 
only now adjusting itself to the remarkable advances of recent years. 

Together with the decline in market value of the staple crops, and 
partly as a result of this and partly as a result of the late war, there has 
been a decline in the value of agricultural lands. In Southern Maryland, 
and on the Eastern Shore particularly, many of the planters suffered 
serious losses, as in all the Southern States, as a result of the late war, 
and many farms bear heavy mortgages. Farmers who purchased land 
only a few years ago when crop prices were higher, and gave mortgages 
for part of the purchase money, with every reason to suppose that they 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 157 

would be able to pay them off, have, with the unexpected decline in 
market values, been unable to bear this burden and meet their current 
expenses, and the mortgages have been increased from time to time, 
until the property has been thrown on the market. Many large and once 
valuable estates have thus run down and been abandoned, and fine lands, 
adapted to varied agriculture, can be purchased for a fifth or even a tenth 
part of their value twenty years ago. While these conditions are 
undoubtedly discouraging to many of the present owners of lands in the 
State, they offer great advantages to any one having an unincumbered 
property with even a small working capital, who understands the adapt- 
ation of the soil, and who has sufficient business habits and methods to 
watch and take advantage of the market. 

There are two principal factors in addition to personal inclinations 
which should determine what particular agricultural line should be 
taken up. These are the adaptation of the land, and the state and near- 
ness of the market, with the ease and cost of transportation. For 
stock raising, obviously a locality must be selected where the soil is 
sufficiently strong to grow grass for hay and to maintain good pasturage. 
The milk trade which supplies the Baltimore market cannot well be 
located at any considerable distance from the city, and it must be in 
those directions where the land is sufficiently strong to produce pastur- 
age or other forage for the stock, and near a line of railroad. These 
conditions at once prevent a large portion of the State from competing 
in this milk trade. Much the same may be said of the market gardens, 
which must be near the city so that the young and tender vegetables 
may be hauled to market by the producer's teams. Truck farming has a 
much wider area, but this is limited, as we shall see, to those light sandy 
soils which force the crop to an early maturity and so get the advantage 
of the early market prices. Wheat must be confined to those lands 
which produce from eighteen to forty bushels per acre, and tobacco to 
such lands as will give the color and texture required by the present 
market demands. 

THE AGRICULTURAL REGIONS OP THE STATE. 

The State may be divided into four principal agricultural regions, 
each having peculiar advantages of soil, climatic conditions, nearness of 
the market and means of transportation. For convenience in treatment, 
however, two of these can be classed together. 

Western Maryland comprises that part of the State west of the 
(Jatoctin Mountains, including Garrett, Alleghany and Washington 
counties and part of Frederick county. This region is quite mountain- 
ous, and much of the land is in native forest growth. Some of the finest 
and most fertile grass and wheat lands, however, are in this region. 



158 MARYLAND. 

The Trenton limestone, the Helderberg limestone and the Catskill 
red sandstone are valued in the order given, the Trenton limestone lands 
being the heaviest and the finest in the State. The Cambrian sandstone 
along the northern slopes of the North Mountain has recently become 
famous for the quality and color of the peaches, and peach growing has 
become a very large and important industry over this limited area, where 
there is the proper exposure to insure the crop against danger of frost. 
The " mountain peaches " come into the market later than the crop from 
the southern and eastern section of the State, and bring an excellent 
price. There are probably other localities and other formations further 
west which are as well adapted to peaches ; and this industry will 
undoubtedly spread. 

The mountains and the very rolling lands are, for the most part, 
covered with a native growth of forest trees, and with a native pasturage 
which adapts it to grazing purposes. The valley lands are usually very 
fertile and adapted to the finer kinds of grasses and to wheat and corn. 
There are excellent railroad facilities, and, what is equally important, 
there are good roads, or material within reach to make good roads. The 
soils will be described in detail in another section of this chapter. The 
fattening of cattle for market is an important industry in this region, 
and has assumed large proportions in Washington county. 

Northern Central Maryland consists of Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, 
Carroll, Howard and Montgomery counties and part of Frederick county. 
It is located mainly within the Piedmont Plateau, or the area of the 
crystalline and semi-crystalline rocks. It has much the same agricul- 
tural features as the valley lands of Western Maryland. The country is 
gently undulating, giving admirable surface drainage to the lands. The 
variety of rocks gives a great variety of soil formations in this region, 
but a number of them have very nearly the same agricultural value, and 
the region, as a whole, is remarkably uniform. The soils, as a rule, are 
strong and fertile ; they have good body and good surface and under- 
drainage, and are capable of a high state of cultivation. They are well 
adapted to grass, wheat and corn, and these have long been the staple 
crops. The lands are admirably suited to stock raising and the fattening 
of cattle, and large numbers are annually fattened for market. Where 
the distance from the market and facilities for transportation admit, this 
locality is favorable to dairy farming, and the milk trade of Baltimore 
is entirely within this area. These same remarks may apply to market 
gardening as distinguished from truck farming. In recent years corn and 
tomatoes have been raised in large quantities for canning, and especially 
in Harford county. A number of lines of railroad cross the area, the 
facilities for transportation are excellent, and the roads are equally good. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 159 

Southern Maryland includes Anne Arundel, Calvert, St. Mary's, 
Charles and Prince George's counties. It occupies a peninsula formed 
by the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. The country is gently 
undulating, and has good surface and under drainage. There are good 
wheat and grass lands in this part of the State, principally formed from 
the diatomaceous earth in the Chesapeake formation. Many of these, 
which were formerly good wheat lands, are run down from causes 
already mentioned. Much of the land is heavily mortgaged, there is a 
lack of working capital, farm labor is scarce and inefficient, wages are 
high, and it takes two or three times as much land to produce a bushel 
of wheat as on the heavier limestone soils of Western Maryland. 

Most of the land in Southern Maryland is far too light in texture for 
grass and wheat, but it is admirably adapted to truck farming and to 
fruits of different kinds, especially to peaches and strawberries. Truck 
and fruit raising is already a very important industry and one growing 
in importance, as the market demands are being increased and enlarged 
and transportation facilities extended. 

Tobacco has been a staple crop in Southern Maryland since the 
earliest colonial days. The best quality of tobacco, which will be 
described in another place, is raised on thp lighter wheat lands, which 
are heavier than the earliest truck soils. The quality of the tobacco has 
deteriorated in recent years. Labor is scarce and less care is taken than 
formerly in the cultivation and preparation of the crop for market. 
The area of tobacco culture in the United States and abroad has been 
enormously increased, so that this grade of tobacco meets with wide 
competition, and the market demands themselves have changed, so that 
the industry is not what it formerly was. Efforts are being made to 
introduce other varieties of tobacco which will meet higher market 
demands, and if these efforts be successful a stimulus will be given to 
tobacco culture in districts where all the conditions are adapted to 
producing a mild, fine-textured and light-colored leaf. 

This region will undoubtedly, within a short time, be almost entirely 
devoted to tobacco, fruit and truck farming, for the soils are well suited 
to these crops and there can be no competition in any part of the State 
except portions of the Eastern Shore. The lack of railroad facilities has 
prevented this region from developing as it will as soon as they are 
provided. There are two or three lines of railroad within this area, and 
several more are contemplated or in actual process of construction. 
Numerous rivers and creeks make up into the land, providing cheap 
and easy communication with Baltimore by water, and in some of the 
lower counties there is no place over five miles from a good steamboat 
landing. 



160 MARYLAND. 

The Eastern Shore includes all that portion of the State east of the 
Chesapeake Bay except Cecil county, which is included, agriculturally, 
in Northern Central Maryland. It comprises Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot, 
Dorchester, Caroline, Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester counties. The 
country, as a rule, is very level and flat, the elevations rarely exceeding 
fifty feet. There are heavy soils in this locality admirably adapted to 
wheat and corn, which have always been staple crops ; there are other 
soils, lighter in texture, well suited to fruit, especially peaches, and other 
very light, sandy lands suitable for fruit and early truck. None of the 
other agricultural regions in the State have as fine facilities for transpor- 
tation as this Eastern Shore. Several lines of railroad branch out through 
it in all directions, and there are so many rivers and creeks that cheap 
and easy water transportation is not more than a few miles distant from 
any locality. The roads are generally excellent, especially on the heavier 
wheat and corn lands. The climate is mild and temperate, as the ocean 
is on one side and the bay on the other. Living is cheap, as it is all 
along the south Atlantic coast where fish and oysters are abundant, and 
the winters are so mild that little provision has to be made for them. 
This region has been noted from the earliest colonial times for the 
hospitality of the people, and the social life of the Eastern Shore, cut off 
in a way from the rest of the State, has been unique. 

THE PRINCIPAL CROPS OF THE STATE. 

Grass, wheat, corn and tobacco have always been the staple crops, 
and they will continue so to be in certain sections where the land is 
sufficiently strong and fertile to return large yields per acre, or where 
the soil is well adapted to produce the quality or texture of crop required 
by the present market demands. 

In speaking of the causes of the recent depression in agriculture, it 
was stated that before tbe introduction of cheap and rapid means of 
transportation these staple crops were very generally grown on all farms, 
whether the yield was large or small. The custom of generations had 
developed a traditional routine which scarce any one departed from. 
There was a ready market in the cities and no one dreamed of competi- 
tion from the far West. Land which would produce a yield of only 10 
bushels per acre of wheat was considered poor, and the management was 
referred to as poor farming. It was supposed that the same methods of 
cultivation under which yields of 20, 30 or 40 bushels per acre of wheat 
were produced in other portions of the State, or in England, should give 
the same results on these light lands. There was no consideration of the 
difference in climatic conditions nor of the important effect of the 
physical texture and structure and the adaptation of the soils. No 
wonder farmers were discouraged when the same treatment under which 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 161 

forty bushels of wheat per acre were produced on the limestone soils, 
failed completely, on these lighter sandy lands, to produce any material 
increase. 

One of the most encouraging signs in regard to the development of 
agriculture in this State at the present time is that farmers are leaving 
this beaten track, and are giving up the cultivation of these staple crops 
for others which they find they can produce as well, or better, than they 
can be produced elsewhere, and they are even creating market demands 
for products which were formerly not cared for or considered as luxuries. 

The returns for the 11th Census show that there has been a very 
marked falling off in the acreage of wheat, corn and tobacco in the past 
decade, and this is a very encouraging sign, accompanied as it is by a 
very remarkable increase in the value of truck produced. 

The following table gives a summary of the cereal productions in 
Maryland : 



162 



MARYLAND. 









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AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 163 

In commenting on these results in the Census Bulletin it is stated 
that "in Maryland, the total area in cereals in 1889 was 1,239,428 acres, 
as compared with 1,378,276 acres in 1879, a decrease of 138,848 acres, or 
10.07 per cent. There was a decrease of 78,111 acres in the area of corn, 
of 58,569 acres of that in wheat, of 2,725 acres in buckwheat, and of 1,932 
acres in oats. On the other hand, there was an increase in the areas in 
rye and barley of 1,897 acres and 592 acres respectively." Properly to 
understand and appreciate the significance of this decrease in the area 
devoted to these staple crops, and the lesson it teaches of the direction 
agriculture is taking, it will be well to consider these results in some 
detail. 

The following tables, compiled from these results and those of the 
10th Census, give the acreage and average yield of wheat and corn per 
acre for the different counties in the State, arranged in the order of the 
yield per acre in 1879. It is hardly proper to compare the yields of but 
two years, as the difference in the season may be amply sufficient to 
produce marked differences in the yields per acre. There are, indeed, 
two factors which would tend to influence the yield per acre in these 
returns — the climatic conditions and the very marked decrease in the 
acreage. It will be seen that the decrease in acreage has been decided 
in those regions having the lighter soils, which are not well adapted to 
the production of wheat, and it is probable that in general the lands 
least adapted to wheat or corn are those where the cultivation of these 
crops has soonest been replaced by that of other crops better adapted to 
the lands. The result of this natural selection would be an apparent 
increase of the yield per acre. Due allowance must be made for the 
effect of the season or crop production. 

The following table will give an idea of the climatic conditions for 
the two census years under consideration. The data covers all the crop 
season of the staple crops : 



164 



MARYLAND. 



METEOROLOGICAL DATA FOR BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. (UNITED STATES 
WEATHER BUREAU.) 

Wheat Season. 





Temperature. 


Rainfall. 




1878-9. 


1888-9. 


Difference 


1878-9. 


1888-9. 


Difference 




69.4 
58.3 
46.9 
35.3 
31.3 
32.1 
43.7 
53.7 
65.7 
73.3 
7S.8 


64.0 
51.4 
46.8 
35.9 
37.6 
29.4 
42.8 
54.0 
65.0 
70.7 


— 5.4 

— 6.9 

— 0.1 
+ 0.6 
+ 6.3 

— 2.7 

— 0.9 
+ 1.3 

— 0.7 

— 2.6 

— 3.1 


0.82 
4.41 
3.55 
5.61 
2.59 
1.55 
1.65 
3.69 
2.74 
3.92 
3.16 


4.90 
2.99 
3.04 
3.26 
4.22 
2.53 
5.71 
8.70 
6.82 
6.17 
11.03 


+ 4.08 

— 1.42 

— 0.51 




— 2.35 




+ 1.63 




+ 0.98 




+ 4.06 


A il 


+ 5.01 


Mav 


+ 4.08 


Tnne 


+ 2.25 




+ 7.87 














33.69 
3.06 


59.37 
5.39 


+25.68 




53.4 


52.1 


— 1.3 


+ 2.33 




1878-9. 


1888-9. 


Difference. 


C\ <\l 


106 
101 


83 
137 

158 


— 23 


p. J n^ 


+ 36 




106 




+ 52 



Corn and Tobacco Season. 





Temperature. 


Rainfall . 




1879. 


1889. 


Difference 


1879. 


1889. 


Difference 


April 


52.7 
65.7 
73.3 

78.8 
74.6 
64.1 


54.0 
65.0 
70.7 
75.7 
73.8 
73.5 


+ 1.3 

— 0.7 

— 2.6 

— 3.1 

— 0.8 
+ 9.4 


3.69 
2.74 
3.92 
3.16 
6.71 
2.72 


8.70 
6.82 
6.17 
11.03 
1.40 
4.59 


+ 5.01 


Mav 


+ 4.08 


TllTTP 


+ 2.25 


Tnlv 


+ 7.87 


Ano-nst 


— 5.31 




+ 1.87 














22.94 
3.83 


38.71 
6.45 


+15.77 




68.2 


6S.8 


0.6 


+ 2.63 




1879. 


1889. 


Difference. 


fl • rlavs 


72 
41 


44 
62 
90 


— 28 


Plnnflv rinvq 


+ 21 






3 




+ 37 



It will be seen that tlie mean temperature was considerably lower in 
the wheat season of 1888-9 than in that of 1878-9. There were over 25 
inches, or 76 per cent, more rainfall in 1888-9, and 52 more rainy days, or 
50 per cent, more than in the earlier period. 

In the corn and tobacco seasons, from April to September, inclusive, 
the mean temperature was about the same in each season, but it was 
very differently distributed. There were nearly 16 inches, or 69 per cent, 
more rainfall in the season of 1889 than in that of 1879, and this rain fell 
on 37 more days, giving uniformly wetter conditions. The tobacco crop 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 



165 



of 1889 was exceptionally small, and of poor quality on account of this 
excessive rainfall. 

These climatic conditions must be borne in mind in connection with 
the data which follows. 

Wheat. The accompanying table gives the acreage and average 
yield of wheat per acre in each county in the State, compiled from the 
tenth and eleventh census : 

ACBEAGE AND AVEEAGE YIELD OF WHEAT PEE ACEE. 

(Compiled from the Tenth aud Eleventh Census.) 





1879. 
Acres. 


1889. 
Acres. 


Per Cent. 

Difference 

1889. 


1879. 
Bushels. 


1889. 
Bushels. 


Difference 
Bushels. 




569,296 

15,042 
6,581 
18,554 
10,854 
14,181 


510,727 

8,571 
3,527 
12,444 
6,237 
8,250 


— 10.3 

— 42.9 

— 46.4 

— 32.9 

— 42.5 

— 41.8 


14.06 

7.1 
7.6— 

8.3 
9.0 
9.0 


16.35 

9.6 
7.0 
10.7 
10.9 
8.9 


+ 2.29 

+ 2.5 

— 0.6 
+ 2.4 
+ 1.9 

— 0.1 


Southern Maryland. 


St. Mary's 














— 41.3 

— 37.1 

— 46.0 

— 35.1 
+ 6.5 

— 25.1 
+ 19.6 
+ 0.4 

— 10 1 


8.2 

7.1 
7.2 
7.6 
10.2 
10.3 
13.5 
14.1 
14.8 


9.4 

9.6 
10.2 
12.3 
14.8 
14.7 
16.9 
19.9 
17.2 


+ 1.2 

+ 2.5 
+ 3.0 
4- 5.3 
4- 4.6 
+ 4.4 
+ 3.4 
+ 58 
4- 2.4 


Eastern Shore. 


5,821 
3,720 
25,979 
18,336 
8,082 
41,223 
33,129 
37,581 


3,661 
2,008 
16,952 
19,617 
6,050 
49,313 
33,289 
33,754 












Talbot 


Kent 










— 15.8 

— 32.6 

— 37.8 

— 7.8 
+ 11.5 

— 5.2 

— 4 4 

— 20.1 

— 14.9 

— 8.7 

— 2.2 


10.6 

8.9 
10.7 
■ 13.7 
14.4 
15.7 
16.5 
16.7 
16.9 
16.9 
18.0 


14.4 

11.7 
11.8 
17.4 
17.7 
19.1 
17.1 
18.1 
15.8 
16.1 
17.5 


+ 3.9 

+ 2.8 
4- 1.1 
+ 3.7 
4- 3.3 
4- 3.4 


Northern and Western Maryland. 


7,549 

4,122 
28,629 
40,077 
29,875 
18,445 
25,143 
35,673 
83,767 
56,923 


5,086 
2,652 
26,369 
44,704 
28,812 
17,628 
20,071 
30,237 
76,429 
55,648 








Cecil 




























— 12.2 


14.8 


16.2 


+ 1.3 



The counties in the agricultural regions of the State are grouped 
together, and they are arranged in the order of the yield per acre in 
1879, rather than in the last census year, because this was under the old 
regime when wheat was a staple crop in all parts of the State, and also 
because the climatic conditions of that season are believed to have been 
more nearly normal than in the last census year. The three most 
striking things about this table are the very great reduction in the 
acreage of wheat, the yield per acre, and the increased yield in 1889 over 
1879. In adjusting itself to the new conditions and demands of the 



166 MARYLAND. 

market, it is natural that the cultivation of wheat will be given up first 
on those lands which are least productive, and we find this to be the 
fact. There has been a decrease of over 40 per cent, in the acreage of 
wheat in Southern Maryland. On the Eastern Shore there has been a 
reduction of 15.8 per cent., and this has been almost entirely in the four 
southern counties of Worcester, Wicomico, Dorchester and Somerset, 
which we shall see later are largely covered by typical truck lands 
similar to those of Southern Maryland. In Northern and Western Mary- 
land there has been a reduction in acreage of about 12 per cent., and this 
has been principally in the coal regions of the extreme western part of 
the State. The reduction in acreage in Harford and Montgomery coun- 
ties is probably due to other causes than the character of the land, and 
in the former it is probably largely due to the extensive canning indus- 
tries and to the pasturage and fattening of cattle. None of the other 
counties show a very marked reduction in acreage, and Carroll county 
shows a considerable increase. It will be seen later, when speaking of 
the soils in these different agricultural regions in detail, that the pre- 
vailing soils in Southern Maryland, a,nd in at least four or five counties 
of the Eastern Shore, are not suited to wheat, but that they are admir- 
ably adapted to fruit and truck, and this notable decrease in the acreage 
of wheat shows that they are being turned to uses in which they are far 
more profitable and more valuable. 

In regard to the average yields per acre, given in the table, it will be 
remarked that they are seemingly very low. It must be remembered, 
however, that these averages are for entire counties, and include all 
varieties of soils, methods of cultivation and manuring. As before 
remarked and as will be shown later, the lands devoted to wheat cul- 
ture, especially in Southern Maryland, in several counties of the Eastern 
Shore, and in the extreme western counties of the State, include large areas 
ill-adapted to the cultivation of wheat. This reduces the average yield 
per acre ; and it is as harmful to the farmer himself to misuse his land by 
a cropping to which it is not adapted as it is to other producers whose 
lands are especially adapted to this crop, for it depresses the market 
value without benefiting the producer. It is from such lands as these 
which produce small yields per acre that so much is said of the hard 
times and the low prices of wheat, and it is such areas as these in which 
the acreage of wheat should be reduced and the lands applied to the 
raising of crops for which they are better suited. 

It is hardly fair, therefore, to judge of these agricultural regions by 
the average yield per acre of wheat, because, after all, it does not 
interest a prospective settler to know what the average yield is or what 
a neighbor's yield is as much as to know what can reasonably be 
expected by his own methods of cultivation and manuring. It would be 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 167 

fairer to judge by what a good farmer can expect, and for this these 
averages can, in nearly all cases, be about doubled. For example, the 
wheat lands in Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties, around 
Davidsonville, West River and Marlboro districts, produce eighteen 
bushels per acre with ease. On the good wheat lands in Queen Anne, 
Talbot and Kent counties, on the Eastern Shore, and in all the counties 
of northern central Maryland, together with Frederick and Washington 
counties, from twenty to thirty bushels per acre can be produced with 
ease, and as much as thirty to forty bushels can be depended on with 
the very best lands and with good farming. Yields as low as any of 
those given in the table would be considered very poor farming in any 
of the respective counties, and it would be safe to say that a good 
farmer could depend on twice this yield per acre on the better class of 
wheat lands in these different localities. Farmers in this locality cannot 
afford to grow wheat as a staple crop on lands which produce less than 
fifteen bushels per acre. 

In comparing the yield per acre in the two census years, there are the 
two factors to be considered, the decrease in the acreage, which, by 
weeding out the lands least adapted to wheat culture, would tend to 
increase the average yield, and the difference in the climatic conditions 
of the two seasons. It will be remembered that the season of 1888-89 
was decidedly wetter than that of 1878-79, and there were about 50 per 
cent, more rainy days. The increased precipitation and generally more 
moist conditions, unless altogether too wet, would be favorable and would 
tend to increase the yield on the lighter soils, but might depress the 
yield on the heavier soils. It will be seen from the table that, as a rule, 
the greatest increase of yield per acre in 1889 over 1879 was in those 
counties where the yields were smallest, and, as we shall see, where the 
lands are generally lighter in texture. 

On the whole there is seen to have been a remarkable decrease in 
the acreage of wheat, especially in those counties where the yield is low, 
and where, as will be seen later, the soils are too light in texture to give 
profitable yields per acre of wheat. The staple crops of the fertile lime- 
stone lands of Western Maryland, of the prevailing lands in Northern 
Central Maryland and the heavier lands on the Eastern Shore, will always 
be grass, wheat and corn, because these lands are sufficiently strong to 
give large yields of these crops per acre; but still there are many other 
crops admirably adapted to these lands and to the peculiar market 
advantages of this locality, the cultivation of which could be profitably 
extended. 

Indian Corn. There has been a very marked reduction in the 
acreage of corn as well as in that of wheat, and this has been general 
throughout all of the counties, as will be seen by the accompanying table. 



168 



MARYLAND. 



ACREAGE AND AVERAGE YIELD OP INDIAN CORN PER ACRE. 

(Compiled from the Tenth and Eleventh Census.) 





1879. 
Acres. 


1889. 

Acres. 


Per Cent. 

Difference 

1889. 


1879. 
Bushels. 


1889. 
Bushels. 


Difference 
Bushels. 




664,92S 

23,368 
25,922 
10,848 
28,897 
29,674 


586,817 

20,630 
19,900 
7,830 
23,836 
24,561 


— 11.7 

— 11.7 

— 19.4 

— 24.8 

— 17.5 

— 17.2 


24.01 

15.5 
15.9 
19.5 
32 7 
23.4 


25.44 

15.4 
14.1 
18.2 
24.7 

20.7 




Southern Martland. 






























— 18.1 

— 11.5 

— 5.3 

— 30.0 

— 30.1 

— 15.4 

— 10.4 

— 7.4 

— 5)2.6 


19.4 

10.8 
12.7 
16.4 
16.7 
17.2 
24.2 
26 4 
26.5 


18.6 

7.8 
10.6 
13.3 
17.4 
13.3 
20.7 
28.4 
27.2 


0.8 


Eastern Shore. 


41,214 
44,588 
39,380 
30,590 


36,452 
42,204 
27,551 
21,364 


















3 9 




38,653 I 34,639 
29,937 ; ^7,731 
26,053 | 20,133 




Kent 




Talbot 














— 16.7 

— 11.4 

— 24.8 
+ 2.5 
+ 5.1 

— 6.9 

— 14.2 

— 7.2 
+ 2.9 

— 0.4 

— 9.9 


18.9 

23.5 
23.9 

U8.2 

28.5 
28.9 
30.5 
32.9 
33.5 
34.1 
38.3 


17.3 

28.3 
20.3 
34.2 
37.5 
36.3 
37.3 
34.8 
30.0 
38.4 
37.9 


1.3 


Northern and Western Maryland. 


3,714 

8,661 
17,915 
31,983 
35,287 
39,433 
25,764 
31,920 
52,002 
26.506 


3,290 
6,513 
18,377 
33,624 
32,840 
33,825 
23,905 
32,832 
51,782 
23,890 






3.6 




+ 6.0 




+ 9.0 




+ 74 




+ 6.8 




+ 1.9 




— 3.5 




+ 4.3 




0.4 












— 6.4 


30.2 


33.5 


+ 3.3 



The total acreage of corn is considerably larger than that of wheat, 
but it is somewhat differently distributed. There is a much larger 
acreage of corn than of wheat in southern Maryland and in the lower 
counties of the Eastern Shore, but there is generally a lower acreage in 
the wheat-producing counties of the Eastern Shore and in northern and 
western Maryland. Thus in 1879 there were 3,720 acres in wheat and 
44,588 acres in corn in Worcester county, while in Washington county, 
where the heavy limestone lands prevail, there were 56,923 acres in 
wheat and only 31,910 acres in corn, considerably less than in Wicomico 
county. There are several reasons for this. In the first place, the fine 
wheat lands are too valuable for wheat and grass to put in corn, and 
wheat does not do so well after corn ; the heaviest wheat and grass lands 
are not the best for corn; there is a great deal of land in southern 
Maryland and in the lower counties on the Eastern Shore which will 
produce corn much better than it will wheat; and on account of the 
lower yield per acre it takes a larger acreage to provide grain and fodder 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 169 

for the stock, especially as there is comparatively little hay or pasturage 
where these light lands prevail. 

The decrease in acreage has also been somewhat greater. In the 
counties showing a small average yield per acre of wheat there is a 
relatively small acreage, and the notable decrease of from 35 to 45 per 
cent, in acreage in these counties did not count for much in the State, as 
a whole. With corn, however, this is not so, for Wicomico and Worcester 
counties are shown to have the lowest average yield per acre, but there 
is only one other county which has a larger acreage. The acreage of 
corn in southern Maryland is about the same as in that of the finer 
wheat-producing counties, although the average yield is only about 
one-half or two-thirds as much per acre. While there is not, therefore, as 
much apparent decrease in acreage in the different counties, yet the more 
even distribution in the acreage makes the actual decrease of area in corn 
a little more than that in wheat. 

Tobacco. This has been a staple crop in Maryland from the very 
earliest colonial days, and has contributed more than any other facto r 
to the growth, prosperity and commercial importance of this State. For 
upwards of two hundred years Maryland and Virginia produced nearly 
all the tobacco which was consumed in Europe. Very stringent laws 
prohibited the growing of tobacco in many of the European countries 
to secure a revenue through the importation of tobacco from this country. 

For a time Virginia obtained some revenue directly through an 
export tax. The cultivation of tobacco increased so rapidly in the two 
colonies that an effort was made to maintain the value of the crop by 
legislative enactments, as the rapidly increasing production tended to 
lower the price. Tn 1619, 20,000 pounds of Virginia tobacco were 
exported; in the next year this exportation had increased to 40,000 
pounds; in 1621, 55,000 pounds, and in 1622, 60,000 pounds. In 1639 such 
a quantity was produced that half the crop was ordered to be burnt to 
reduce the amount to 1,500,000 pounds. The following year the value was 
fixed by law at 12 pence per pound, and in 1641 this was increased to 20 
pence. In 1664, however, Virginia gave up this attempt to determine the 
value of the product, as Maryland would not agree to the necessary 
restrictions to keep up the price, and the production rapidly increased, 
while the price fell as low as 10 shillings per hundred-weight in 1662. 
As early as 1638 tobacco was the universal tender for all debts, public 
and private ; and so continued for about 100 years, during most of which 
time it fluctuated between Id. and 2d. per pound. The Legislature of 
1732 fixed the price of inspected tobacco at 12 shillings 6 pence per 
hundred-weight. At this time about 30,000 hogsheads were produced in 
the State annually. 



170 MARYLAND. 

The production of tobacco has varied greatly, from time to time, for 
various causes. In 1790 tlie total exportation from the United States 
amounted to 118,460 hogsheads, which was not exceeded in any one year 
until 1840, when 119,484 hogsheads were exported; hut at the same time 
the total value of the crops often amounted to as much in years when 
only half this amount was produced. 

In 1825 the crop in Maryland amounted to 15,924 hogsheads, in 1846 
it was 41,029, and in 1860 there was the largest crop which has ever been 
produced in Maryland — 51,247 hogsheads. In 1865 the yield was 25,479 
hogsheads; in 1879 it was 46,521 ; in 1890, on account of the very 
unfavorable season, the yield was 14,027 hogsheads, but in 1891 the yield 
had increased again to 27,336 hogsheads. In 1892 the yield was about 
21,000 hogsheads, of excellent color and quality. Of this France alone 
contracted for about 13,000 hogsheads. 

Tobacco, until the late war, was produced in all the counties of the 
Eastern Shore. Since the abolition of slavery, however, the cultivation 
of tobacco has been given up entirely on that shore, and in 1889 only one 
acre, yielding fifty pounds, was reported in the Census, although in 1849 
over 8,000,000 pounds had been raised in Queen Anne's county alone. 
The production of tobacco in Maryland is at present confined almost 
exclusively to the southern counties, although a small amount is pro- 
duced in some other localities, especially in Montgomery, Howard and 
Frederick. During the present century, and especially within very recent 
years, the total production of tobacco in the United State and in foreign 
countries, has been enormously increased. It has extended to all but one 
or two States in this country, and large quantities are produced abroad. 
This great increase of production has been accompanied, of course, by a 
falling off in the price per pound, and the common grades of tobacco 
bring very low prices at present. The market demands, however, are 
constantly changing, and the farmers are introducing those grades which 
command the highest prices. 

The Maryland tobacco is strictly an export tobacco, and goes princi- 
pally to Holland, France and Germany. France alone usually contracts 
for about 10,000 or 13,000 hogsheads of Maryland tobacco. It is very 
mild, has a sweet flavor and free burning qualities, making it specially 
suited for pipe smoking. For a long time Maryland, Virginia and Ohio 
were the only States which produced the light grades of tobacco suitable 
for pipe smoking, but other tobaccos have of late years come into com- 
petition with them. On account of this competition, a series of very 
unfavorable seasons for tobacco, the deterioration of the tobacco lands, 
and less perfect methods of cultivation, manuring and handling, the 
crop has brought very low prices of late years, and many farmers are 
turning their attention to other crops. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 



171 



The accompanying table shows the acreage and yield per acre of 
tobacco in the two census years, compiled from the returns of the Tenth 
and Eleventh Census. 

ACREAGE AND AVERAGE YIELD OF TOBACCO PER ACRE. 

(Compiled from the Tenth and Eleventh Census.) 



1879. 


18S9. 


Per Cent. 
Difference 


1879. 


1889. 


Difference 


Acres. 


Acres. 


1889 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 


38,T74 


17,966 


— 53.9 


6S3 2 


687.7 


— 4.5 


5,538 


2,904 


— 47.4 


801.2 


847.1 


— 45.9 


6,271 


3,750 


— 40.2 


708.1 


561.5 


— 146.6 


6,848 


3,683 


— 46.2 


567.5 


483.7 


— 83.8 


7,913 


3,651 


— 53.8 


650.2 


551.8 


— 98.4 


9,637 


5,322 


— 44.7 


682.2 


603.1 


— 79.1 


12 


11 


— 8.3 


800.1 


1240.9 


+ 440.8 


4S 


1 


— 97.6 


1372.9 


1100.0 


— 373.9 


52 


154 


+ 196.1 


1309.3 


1066.5 


— 242.8 


162 


60 


— 62.9 


846.7 


916.6 


+ 69.9 


208 


115 


— 44.7 


667.9 


797.2 


+ 129.3 


429 


162 


— 62.2 


864.4 


759.8 


— 104.6 


1,053 


460 


— 56.3 


765.4 


729.6 


— 35.8 



Southern Maryland. 



St. Mary's 

Anne Arundel . . . 

Calvert 

Charles 

Prince George's. 



Northern and Western Maryland. 



Baltimore ... 

Cecil 

Harford 

Carroll 

Howard 

Frederick 

Montgomery. 



Note.— No tobacco was returned from the Eastern Shore in 1889, except one acre from Wicomico, 
yielding fifty pounds. 

No tobacco was reported from Alleghany, Garrett and Washington counties in 1S89. 

It will be seen that the production of tobacco is, at present, nearly 
confined to the five Southern Maryland counties. There has been a 
reduction of over 50 per cent, in the acreage of tobacco, which is pretty 
evenly distributed in all sections of the State. This decrease in the 
acreage of tobacco is undoubtedly accompanied by an increased acreage 
of fruit and truck. It will be seen later, in describing the tobacco soils, 
that efforts are being made to introduce other varieties of tobacco, and 
with the great diversity of soil formations in the State, there is no 
reason why a different tobacco should not be successfully produced which 
would meet the higher demands of the market. 

It will be seen also, in describing the tobacco soils, that the tobacco 
plant is extremely sensitive to climatic conditions, and for this reason, as 
well as on account of the notable reduction of over 50 per cent, in the 
area planted, it would not be proper to draw any close comparisons 
between the yields per acre in the two census years, especially as both 
seasons were extremely unfavorable to this crop. 

Truck and Fruit. It has been stated that the area devoted to the 
cultivation of the staple crops, grass, wheat, tobacco and corn, has nota- 
bly decreased in the past decade, and this is largely due to, or is at least 
compensated for, by a notable increase in the acreage of fruit and truck. 
This is the direction agriculture is taking at present. 



172 MARYLAND. 

It is difficult to obtain figures which will show this change exactly, 
as the census returns of grass are not yet compiled, and the truck returns 
have been on a different basis from that formerly taken. The value of 
market-garden products sold in 1879 is given in the tenth census, at 
$873,968, and over 60 per cent, of this is credited to Baltimore county, 
and is probably market gardening proper as distinguished from truck 
farming, as these two industries are separated and defined in tbe eleventh 
census. In the eleventh census the value of the products of truck farm- 
ing alone for the Baltimore district, exclusive of market gardening, is 
$3,784,696 with $2,413,648 additional accredited to the peninsula com- 
prising Delaware and the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and 
"Virginia. The Baltimore district includes all Maryland, except the 
Eastern Shore, also West Virginia, and a few counties of Virginia not in 
the peninsula and Norfolk districts. Mr. J. H. Hale, special census agent, 
writes that most of this truck came from Maryland, and but little from 
West Virginia and the few counties of Virginia that send their products 
to the Baltimore market. There can be no direct comparison between 
the results of the two census years, but these figures will serve to indi- 
cate to what vast proportions this interest of truck farming is growing. 

In 1889 the value of the products of truck farming, exclusive of 
market gardening, peaches and small fruit, for Maryland alone must have 
been at least $4,000,000, although the season of 1889 was an unfavorable 
one for these crops. In this same year the statistician of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture estimated the total value of the wheat crop of 
the State at $4,998,124, and of the corn crop at $6,495,031, so that in point 
of value the truck compares favorably with either of these staples, and 
with market gardening and fruit it far exceeds these other interests, and 
in point of fact it is constantly and rapidly increasing in volume and in 
value, while the wheat and corn acreage is decreasing. Very large areas 
of land well suited to truck have not yet been taken up on account of a 
lack of transportation facilities. 

Then again, this truck was produced on not over 50,000 acres, but to 
produce the wheat and corn crops Mr. Dodge estimates that 546,064 and 
733,239 acres respectively were required. The average value of the 
truck land is about $98 per acre, as given in the Census Bulletin, No. 41. 
The average value of corn and wheat lands in the State can hardly 
exceed $20 or $30 per acre. 

The distinction made between market gardening and truck farming 
in the eleventh census is thus stated by Mr. J. H. Hale : 

" The production of fruits and vegetables for market has always 
been prosecuted with great success, in earlier days as a branch of general 
farming, and more recently as a specialty known as market gardening. 
The business is usually carried on with a few highly-enriched and 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 



173 



thoroughly-cultivated acres of ground and a rotation of crops, so grown 
that there may be a daily supply throughout a considerable portion of 
the year. The farms are usually within a reasonable driving distance of 
cities and towns, and the products are generally sold to the retailers, and 
in many cases, especially in the larger towns, directly to the consumer. 

" Truck farming, although it also consists in the production of green 
vegetables for market, is distinguished from market gardening by the 
fact that, while the market gardener lives near a market and delivers his 
products with his own teams, usually producing a general variety of 
vegetables, the truck farmer lives remote from market, is dependent 
upon transportation companies and commission men for the delivery and 
sale of his products, and usually devotes himself to such specialties as 
are best suited to soil and climate. 

" Of the vegetables grown by the truck farmers the leading classes are 
as follows : Watermelons, cabbage, peas, asparagus, melons other than 
watermelons, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, Irish potatoes, celery 
and string beans, ranking in acreage in the order named ; beets, cucum- 
bers, cauliflower, carrots, egg-plants, kale, lettuce, lima beans, parsnips, 
radishes, rhubarb, squashes, sweet corn and turnips are also grown as 
truck-farm crops, but only to a limited extent as compared to the first 
named. These, and other vegetables not here mentioned, being grown 
mostly by market gardeners than by truck farmers." 

The following table gives the acreage and the net income per acre 
of the leading classes of vegetables on truck farms in the Baltimore and 
peninsula districts. This does not take into account the vegetables 
grown in market gardens near local markets, nor where the crop is grown 
in large quantities, as- field crops, as is frequently the case with potatoes : 



NUMBER OF ACRES AND NET INCOME PER ACRE ON LEADING VARIETIES OP 

VEGETABLES. 

Eleventh Census, Bulletin No. 41. 



BALTIMORE DISTRICT. 



PENINSULA DISTRICT. 



Peas 
Cabt 

Tomatoes. 
Sweet Potatoes 
Irish Potatoes. 

Asparagus 

Spinach 

Watermelons. . 
String Beans . . 

Cucumbers 

Kale 

Celery 

Beets 

Miscellaneous . 

Total. . . . 



37,181 



5,170 


29.50 


4,165 


96.50 


3,780 


34.00 


3,150 


52.10 


2,860 


68.50 


2,270 


87.75 


1,980 


37.60 


620 


42.00 


585 


28.70 


360 


27.50 


261 


47.00 


198 


87.75 


134 


80.60 


11,648 







Sweet Potatoes. 

Cabbage 

Peas 



Watermelons . . 

Spinach 

Irish Potatoes. 
String Beans . . 

Kale 

Tomatoes 

Cucumbers 

Celery 

Beets 

Miscellaneous . 



Total . 



4,860 


48.60 


3,275 


95.00 


3,224 


26.00 


2,640 


84.00 


2,469 


43.00 


2,128 


32.60 


1,295 ' 


77.25 


615 


32.00 


590 


50.00 


416 


43.00 


313 


26.00 


97 


66.00 


67 


80.00 


3,725 









174 MARYLAND. 

To produce this truck a very intense system of cultivation is prac- 
ticed, and the expenses are very great, while much of the success, after 
all, depends upon the season and the condition of the markets. It 
frequently happens that a crop bringing a good price when marketed, 
would not have paid for the expense of transportation if put on the 
market a day or two later. The truck planters, therefore, aim to get 
their products to market at the earliest possible moment. 

First-class truck land varies in value from $50 per acre to $200 per 
acre, or even more, depending upon the kind and condition of the soil, 
and particularly upon the location and ease of transportation. Land 
immediately on the water is worth several times as much as similar 
land two or three miles from the water or railroads, on account of the 
difficulty and expense of transporting the tender and bulky crop, and the 
damage done in the hauling and handling. Many of the very finest 
truck lands in Southern Maryland are lying out as barren wastes, and 
can be purchased for a merely nominal sum of from $1 to $5 per acre, on 
account of the present lack of transportation facilities. When this 
country is opened up and developed by railroad lines, which will foster 
this interest, thousands of acres of the very finest truck and fruit lands 
will be available, and the southern portion of the State will be one vast 
market garden. 

The labor on these truck farms is scarce, and wages are necessarily 
high. The work is both continuous and exacting. Good laborers get 
from $12 to $20 per month, with rations and a house. Skilled laborers 
get more. Women get from 50 cents to 75 cents per day, and men from 
75 cents to a dollar. The labor cost, on the leading varieties of veget- 
ables, as given in the Census Bulletin (No. 41), in the two districts under 
consideration, ranges from about $10 to $30 per acre. The cost of seeds 
and plants ranges from 50 cents to $10 per acre, depending upon the 
kind of vegetable. The fertilizer cost is from $10 to $50 per acre, 
while the average net income per acre is estimated at from $30 to $100. 
Certainly this is beyond all comparison more profitable than wheat or 
corn, besides the possibility of creating new or larger demands. Trans- 
portation facilities are constantly inproving and enlarging, and the use 
of refrigerator cars, holding as much as four tons of ice, has made it 
possible to transport vegetables to almost any distance in a fresh and 
healthy condition ; new markets for early truck and fruit are opening up 
in the West and as far north as Canada. What may be done by the 
introduction of new vegetables may be seen in the case of the tomato. 
As late as 1830, the tomato was grown only as a curiosity, and as an 
ornamental plant in gardens. It was hardly known as an edible plant, 
and, indeed was by many considered poisonous. It is now one of our 
principal crops, and is a staple article of food in nearly all families the 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 175 

year round. It is used in its fresh state during its long season, and there 
is an enormous industry in canning it for winter use. The market 
demands have been increased by forcing the plants to an early maturity, 
and by improved transportation facility. Only five or ten years ago 
tomatoes, in the early spring before the local crop was ripe, were a 
luxury, whi ch few could afford ; now successive crops are brought here 
in abundance from the South, and they become a staple article of food 
almost as soon as the winter is over. In our own State they are forced 
under glass, or on the light truck soils, to an early maturity, when they 
still bring a good price, while the later crops, from the heavier soils of 
the State, are extensively canned for winter use. Much the same may be 
said of strawberries, of lettuce, celery, asparagus, and many other crops 
which were considered luxuries a few years ago, but which now are 
staple articles of food during a comparatively long season, even in 
families of moderate means. 

It will be seen presently in describing the soils of the State that 
much of the success of truck farming is due to the character of the soil. 
Light sandy lands are most valuable for this industry, because when 
properly treated the crop ripens much earlier than on the heavier lands 
and, in consequence, demands a much higher market value. The aim of 
the truck planter is to get the crop to market at the earliest possible 
date, or else to delay it until the crops from the other parts of the State 
have given out. On the heavier lands of Northern-Central and Western 
Maryland, most of these vegetables may be grown with great success, 
and, as a rule, the plants are much larger and yield more per acre, but 
the crop is later in coming to maturity. It reaches the market from one 
to three weeks later than the crop from the lighter truck lands, and it 
must come into competition with similar crops from all parts of the 
State. As a consequence, there is usually a glut in the market and the 
crop frequently does not pay for the expense of transportation. The 
whole business of truck farming is comparatively new, having existed 
as a separate industry only since 1860. 

Where the crop cannot be sold with profit in the fresh state, it may 
be canned and preserved for winter use, and this canning industry has 
grown of late years to enormous proportions, and has given a great stim- 
ulus to truck farming. Maryland has been the leading State, and 
Harford the leading county for this industry until 1891, when from 
various causes, and partly on account of variable seasons, New Jersey 
took the lead, to yield it again, however, in 1892. 

The largest yield of tomatoes was in 1888, when 968,733 cases were 
put up in this State alone, each case holding two dozen cans. In that 
same year there were over a million cases of corn put up in the State, 



176 MARYLAND. 

although this figure is far in excess of the production in subsequent 
years. 

In Harford county there has been a larger area planted in tomatoes 
for canning purposes than in any similar extent of territory in the 
United States, and this industry has replaced, to a large extent, the culti- 
vation of the old staples, wheat and corn. Tomatoes and corn are the 
principal crops in these northern counties; in the southern counties and 
on the Eastern Shore, peas, beans, strawberries, peaches and cherries are 
extensively raised for canning. 

A greater part of the tomato crop, and nearly all the corn crop is 
packed by local canning houses, although when the peach crop is short, 
many of the city packers turn their attention to tomatoes. As a rule, 
the other vegetables and fruits are shipped to the cities for canning. 

As there is no particular purpose in having the crop intended for 
canning mature early, the yield and quality of the crop is of more impor- 
tance, and the soils are selected with reference to these particulars. The 
lighter soils of the gneiss and gabbro formations are selected for this 
purpose because they are easier worked and the crops mature better than 
on the heavier lands. 

The bulk of the pea crop is grown in Anne Arundel county. In 1892 
365,000 bushels of peas were canned from this one county, as estimated 
by the Canned Goods Exchange, and this is a low estimate, for it does 
not include the product of the local canning factories. 

The production of fruits did not exist in this State as a separate 
industry before 1830. At this time there were only a few peach orchards 
adjacent to Baltimore City, and the cultivation of strawberries was 
confined to small areas in market gardens. About this time, however, a 
Mr. Cassidy came from Philadelphia and bought three hundred acres of 
land in Cecil county and put out the first large peach orchard in the 
State, except those in Anne Arundel county supplying the local Balti- 
more market. Mr. Cassidy sold his crops in Philadelphia for excellent 
prices, and this stimulated the growing of peaches on the Eastern Shore, 
and the industry spread with great rapidity. By 1840 the peach crop 
exceeded the market demands, and there was a glut in the market, the 
crop bringing the lowest prices which have ever prevailed. This demor- 
alized the peach growers, and many orchards were subsequently rooted 
up. About this time, however, the canning interest sprang up, and not 
only relieved the market at that time but it has constantly and steadily 
increased the demand. 

The peach interest is at present confined to the Eastern Shore, 
Southern Maryland and to the mountains in the far western part of the 
State, which latter has been treated of in another place. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 177 

There are few peaches now grown in Cecil county, where the industry 
was introduced into the State, or in the northern central counties, as 
peaches do not do well on these heavy gabbro and gneiss soils. 

The peach interest has been steadily moving southward on the 
peninsula for some years back. About forty years ago the "peach 
yellows" seriously crippled the peach industry in New Jersey, and this 
disease has been gradually spreading southward, and has destroyed many 
of the orchards in Delaware and in the northern counties on the Eastern 
Shore, but it is not felt at all in the southern counties of the peninsula. 

The Eastern Shore counties rank in the importance of the peach 
industry about as follows : Kent, Queen Anne, Caroline, Dorchester, 
Talbot, Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester; but the industry is rapidly 
extending in the lower counties, and it is believed that before long this 
will be the great peach-producing area. In southern Maryland the 
industry is very extensive in Anne Arundel, Calvert and St. Mary's 
counties. 

It is impossible to get exact figures of the total peach crop, as the 
crop is shipped in such various ways. The most trustworthy estimates, 
however, place the average crop of the peninsula, including Delaware and 
the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and Virginia, at 2,000,000 bushels, 
although it has at times reached double this amount, and has been almost 
a failure in other years. The mountain peach industry has an advantage 
over the lowland crop in that the mountain crop is seldom, if ever, a 
failure, while the lowland crop is very frequently injured by late frost. 
The two crops do not conflict, as the mountain peaches come in after the 
lowland crop is over and bring an excellent price. 

Before 1830 strawberries were confined to small patches in market 
gardens near the cities. Between 1830 and 1840 a Mr. Crisp came over 
from Kent Island and put out a large strawberry bed in Anne Arundel 
county, not far from Baltimore. He shipped the berries to Philadelphia 
and got an excellent price for them ; and these were probably the first 
berries shipped from the State. The interest thus started spread rapidly, 
and it is estimated that in 1892 no less than 1,000,000 quarts of straw- 
berries were shipped to northern and western markets from Anne Arundel 
county alone, besides a large quantity consumed in the Baltimore market. 
The introduction of the refrigerator car has widened the market for 
strawberries enormously. Four tons of ice are put into these cars, and 
the berries can then be shipped to Canada and opened in almost as good 
condition as when they left home ; and the cry of "Ann Aranel " straw- 
berries is about as familiar and as welcome in Montreal as it ever has 
been in the Baltimore markets. 

The crop is shipped direct by the producer to New York, Boston, 
Canada, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and to all points reached by a 

12 



178 MARYLAND. 

single railroad system, where the cars can be billed through and run on 
a fast freight schedule. In this way they can be sent by fast freight 
about as quickly and usually for about half the cost as when sent by 
express. 

It is interesting to note the way the direction of shipments changes 
as the season passes. Early crops come to the Baltimore market, or 
pass through it from the South, in successive crops from Florida, South 
and North Carolina and Virginia, and then, when our own crop is passed, 
berries are shipped here from New York and other northern points; so 
the crop goes up the coast and back once in a season, and the interme- 
diate points have both a northern and southern trade. 

The strawberry interest is greatest in Anne Arundel county, although 
it has lately assumed large proportions in Baltimore and some of the 
other northern counties. It has been taken up with great interest in all 
the Eastern Shore counties, especially in Wicomico, Caroline and Som- 
erset. The admirable railroad and water facilities on the Eastern Shore, 
together with the peculiar nature of the land, adapt this region particu- 
larly to the fruit and truck interest. 

Pears have not been grown to any very great extent as a special 
industry in this State, but of late years the interest has been increasing. 
This is the case especially on the Eastern Shore, where pears are replac- 
ing peaches to a very considerable extent in the northern counties. It is 
said that the blight, Which has been very destructive in other parts of 
the State, gives little trouble on the Eastern Shore, and that where it 
does occur it yields readily to treatment. 

Wild blackberries grow very abundantly in southern Maryland and 
on the Eastern Shore, and this is even now a very important industry in 
the State. The first attempt at planting the improved varieties was in 
Anne Arundel county, about 1855, shortly after the introduction of 
the Lorton berries had aroused an interest in the culture. The 
cultivation of blackberries is an important industry in Anne Arundel and 
Baltimore counties, and in Caroline, Wicomico and the upper Eastern 
Shore counties. 

Raspberries are cultivated quite extensively in Anne Arundel county, 
principally for canning and preserving. 

The canning industry has greatly increased the demand for fruits 
and vegetables and has increased the value of the crops. Thirty years 
ago fresh berries usually sold in Baltimore for about one cent per quart. 
They now bring five or ten cents per quart, and even more. Peaches 
retailed at about ten cents per peck, but now average about thirty cents. 
Peas brought about forty cents per bushel, and now bring, on an average, 
about $1.20 per bushel. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 179 

Dairying. The production of milk and butter on the farm for home 
consumption and, to a limited extent, for near markets, has always been 
successful in certain sections of the State; but, like truck farming, 
dairying has only existed as a separate industry within recent years, and 
it has grown very rapidly on account of improvements in dairy methods 
and of the great extension of markets by the improved transportation 
facilities. The dairy interest entered this State from Pennsylvania, 
butter being at first the principal product. Within very recent years the 
milk trade has replaced the butter to a very large extent, as new markets 
have been opened, or rather as means of transportation have been 
improved. The principal markets for milk are Baltimore, Washington 
and Philadelphia, in the order named, and the milk trade is carried on 
within a radius of about twenty-five miles of these centres. Harford, 
Baltimore and Montgomery counties are the largest milk-producing 
counties in the State, on account of their location near Baltimore and 
their excellent transportation facilities. Frederick, Carroll and Cecil 
counties come next in order in the extent of the milk trade. This 
interest has grown to very large proportions. The milk trade is practi- 
cally confined to those portions of the State where hay and pasturage or 
other good forage can be produced, and it is further limited by distance 
from the markets and by the means of transportation. 

The second advance in the development of the dairy interest in the 
State was in the introduction of creameries for the disposition of milk 
which was too far from the markets to be sold as such. The first 
creamery was established in the State about 1884, and they have rapidly 
increased until there are at present between fifty and sixty establish- 
ments in different parts of the State. There are a few co-operative 
creameries where the owners of the cows also own or have an interest in 
the factory and divide the expenses and the profits of the business. 
Most of the creameries, however, are proprietary affairs owned by an 
individual or a company, where milk is bought outright for a certain 
sum per 100 pounds. 

The creameries are not confined to butter-making alone, but in 
certain times of the year and in certain conditions of the market cream 
and ice-cream are sold in large quantities. Some of the skim-milk is 
made into cheese, but it is usually considered a waste product and is fed 
to hogs. The manufacture of cheese has never been much of an industry 
in the State. 

There is still much farm dairying and much butter is made on the 
farms, but large sections have changed to the production of milk, and 
farmers are selling more and more of their milk to the creameries rather 
than manufacture it themselves into butter. The rapid growth of the 
creamery interest has resulted from improved dairy methods, by which 



180 MARYLAND. 

dairying has been made independent of an ice supply, which was 
regarded as essential twenty years ago 

The chief obstacle in the dairy interest, and one which is universally 
felt, is garlic. It is impossible to eradicate this from the pastures. 
Certain chemical methods have very recently been introduced in Holland 
by which the taint of garlic in the milk has been removed, and these 
may, perhaps, obviate this disadvantage. 

The creamery industry is quite extensive in Howard, Montgomery, 
Frederick and Carroll counties, with Mt. Airey as a centre of the district. 
It is also an important industry in Cecil and Kent counties, and a few 
creameries are scattered as far south as Talbot county on the Eastern 
Shore. 

The dairy stock is, for the most part, the native stock of the country 
with a strong infusion of Jersey blood. The Holstein-Friesian have been 
favorites with some for milk production for several years, and there are 
several fine herds in different parts of the State. Guernseys have been 
introduced within recent years and have been gradually increasing in 
numbers and favor. In the western counties farmers still cling to the 
Durham or Short-horn as the foundation stock. 

Fattening Qattle. Another very important industry of a special 
line, which has attained very large proportions in this State, is the fatten- 
ing of store cattle for market. The following information and account 
of this industry has been obtained mainly from Hon. David Seibert, of 
Washington county, Mr. Robert H. Miller, of Montgomery county, director 
of the Agricultural Experiment Station, and Mr. S. A. Williams, of Har- 
ford county. 

Store cattle are purchased about the month of September, the number 
depending upon the size of the farm, the amount and condition of the 
pasturage and the amount of corn fodder and of other similar products 
which are available to feed them on. Usually from 10 to 100 head of 
cattle are purchased according to these conditions. Cattle weighing from 
1,000 to 1,200 pounds are desired for this purpose, and those which come 
from Virginia and West Virginia are preferred. The cattle are at once 
turned cut "to pasture, and often they are not otherwise fed until they are 
sold the following year. When the winter is severe, however, the cattle 
are fed for two months on short or soft-ear corn, which is not considered 
marketable, and with corn-fodder, hay and straw. When the inferior 
corn is exhausted good ear-corn is often crushed with one-fifth oats, or 
light mill-feed bran is mixed with the crushed corn, and fed at the rate 
of three gallons to each animal per day. The pastures, however, are the 
mam dependence, and usually the farm is stocked with reference to the 
extent and condition of the pasture. When sold, the smaller and lighter 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 181 

cattle are sent to the Washington, Baltimore or Philadelphia markets, 
while the tops or best ones are purchased for the Liverpool market. 

The price of store cattle and of fattened cattle varies greatly with 
the season and the state of the market. The prices for store cattle range 
from about |3 to $4 per 100 pounds gross weight. The selling price 
varies from about $4 to $5.25. The cattle are usually kept from eight to 
ten months, and they gain on an average from 300 to 450 pounds in that 
time, or about fifty pounds a month. This increase in weight and the 
advance in the selling price are supposed to cover the expenses of feeding 
and keeping the cattle, and a good deal of rough food is utilized in this 
way which would otherwise be wasted, and the lands are improved as 
they get the benefit of a large amount of manure produced. 

This industry is confined principally to the northern central and 
western Maryland regions, where there is an abundance of grain, wheat, 
straw, corn and corn fodder. The interest is rather declining in northern 
central Maryland, as the margin is narrower between the buying and 
selling prices and other interests have taken the place of the old staples 
of grass, wheat and corn. It is increasing, however, in western Maryland, 
especially in Washington county, where the farmers are stocking their 
farms to the fullest capacity, realizing the benefit to the lands of having 
the stock in the increased production of the staple crops through the 
utilization of the rough food on the place and returning it to the land 
again in the form of manure. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL SOIL FORMATIONS OF THE STATE. 

There is a greater number of geological formations in Maryland 
than in any other State, and consequently a very great variety of soils. 
To understand the variety of interests presented by this diversity of 
soils, and to know what crops are best adapted to the lands, we must 
understand these different soil formations and their relation to the 
growth and development of plants. It will be necessary to review 
very briefly the generally accepted views in regard to plant nutrition, 
so that we can understand why certain crops are best adapted to 
these different lands. We must try to understand why it is that a 
yield of thirty or forty bushels of wheat per acre can be obtained from 
the heavy limestone soils of western Maryland as readily as five or ten 
bushels from the light sandy truck lands of southern Maryland, or why 
truck will ripen much earlier on these light sandy lands than it does on 
the heavier wheat lands; for it is only when we understand these rela- 
tions of soils to the life, growth and development of plants that we 
may hope to understand the adaptation of our different soils and the 
treatment best suited to maintain their fertility, or to increase their 
productiveness. 



182 MARYLAND. 

Much of this work on the Maryland soils has been done by the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, and will appear later in the form of a bulle- 
tin. It is published here by permission of the Secretary of Agriculture. 
Credit should also be given the Maryland Agricultural Experiment 
Station for co-operation in the work for a period of about two years. 

The Prevailing Views of Plant Nutrition. The prevailing views 
in regard to the nutrition of plants may be briefly stated. Before Liebig's 
time the mineral matter which composes the ashes of plants was 
generally believed to be an accidental impurity and not in any way essen- 
tial to the life or growth of the plant ; but since Liebig's doctrine of the 
mineral theory of plant growth it has been proved that plants require 
certain mineral substances for their life and normal growth. The most 
common and most abundant of these mineral substances are phosphoric 
acid, potash, lime, alumina, magnesia, iron, silica, sulphuric acid and the 
like. These mineral substances are necessary to build up the vegetable 
tissues, and to form the various organic substances which are contained 
in the cells, and they are required also for various physiological actions 
which take place in the growth of the plant ; for example, potash is 
required in the transfer of starch and of other food materials from one 
part of the plant to another. These mineral matters are ordinarily 
obtained from the soil. Different plants require different amounts of 
this mineral matter. Thus, 100 pounds of pine wood contain less than 
half a pound of ashes or mineral matters obtained from the soil, all the 
rest of its substance being obtained directly or indirectly from the atmos- 
phere. The tobacco plant, on the contrary, which is the grossest feeder 
we have among agricultural plants, contains from 15 to 25 pounds of 
mineral matter derived from the soil in one hundred pounds of the 
plants. 

It has been proved, that of the mineral substances entering into the 
composition of plants, all are present in abundance and in an available 
form for plants to feed on in nearly all soils, with the exception of phos- 
phoric acid, potash and lime, and possibly also magnesia and sulphuric 
acid. Soils rarely contain less than one ton of phosphoric acid and of 
potash per acre one foot deep, and usually from two to twenty tons of 
each, and when we consider that the roots of plants usually go very 
much deeper than twelve inches and that the surface of the ground is 
constantly wearing away a little, it will be seen that there is a very large 
amount of plant food in the soil for crops. 

Nitrogen is another very important plant food, entering largely into 
the composition of organic matters. Strictly speaking, this is not of 
mineral origin, for the direct source of supply is the organic matter of 
the soil. It was probably originally derived from the atmosphere, but 
it has not yet been satisfactorily explained how the free nitrogen gas of 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 183 

the atmosphere is converted into the organic matter of the soil, except 
that it has recently been shown to be principally through the agency of 
bacteria. 

It was thought by Liebig and his immediate followers, that a com- 
parison of the analyses of a soil and plant would show what was lacking 
in the soil for a large crop production. A plant having a large amount 
of lime in its composition, for example, would require a highly cal- 
careous soil, while a plant having a large amount of nitrogen would 
require a soil especially rich in nitrogenous matters. 

A large amount of work has been based upon this belief in the 
analysis of soils and plants, and tables have been prepared for calculat- 
ing the exhaustion of soils by crops and their enrichment by manures. 
It has been clearly demonstrated, however, that there is no such simple 
relation between the ordinary chemical composition of plants and soils, 
as was at first supposed. 

It has been shown that the amount of food material taken up from 
the soil by a single crop is relatively so small that its loss cannot be 
detected with any certainty by a subsequent chemical analysis of the 
soil, while the addition of no more than 20 pounds of potash or of phos- 
phoric acid or of some nitrogenous compound, may insure a good crop 
where otherwise it would have been a failure. This quantity of plant 
food is relatively so small that if it were uniformly mixed with the soil 
it could not be detected by an ordinary chemical analysis. Further- 
more, it has been shown repeatedly that very barren soils, or soils 
" worn out " and " exhausted," may have as much plant food, as shown 
by the ordinary chemical analysis, as other soils which are known to be 
exceedingly fertile. 

It is no wonder that, as these facts become apparent, there should be 
a revulsion of feeling, and that these soil investigations should be dis- 
credited. Fortunately the investigations have not stopped here. 

This plant food is derived from the disintegration of the mineral 
matters in the soil, such as the feldspar, mica, &c, and in the decomposi- 
tion of these minerals new compounds are being constantly formed. 
For instance clay, which in its pure form is a silicate of alumina con- 
taining a little combined water, and the silicate of potash, which is a 
form of potash readily available to plants, are being formed from the 
decomposition of some of the feldspars and micas, while these decom- 
position products themselves may act on other constituents on the soil, 
forming new compounds, which are more or less readily available to 
plants. There are probably, therefore, constant and continual changes in 
the chemical composition of the soil ingredients. It is commonly held, 
nowadays, that only a small part of the plant food in the soil is in such 
a form of chemical combination as to be readily available to plants, and 



184 MARYLAND. 

that it does not accumulate in the soil in an available form, hut if it is 
not taken up at once by plants it quickly reverts to a rocky or insoluble 
form in which it is no longer available. 

It is further believed that plants differ in their capacities for extract- 
ing food from soils. It is a common expression that rye will thrive 
where wheat would starve. It does not follow, by any means, that a 
plant containing a relatively large amount of nitrogen in its composition 
does best on a highly nitrogenous soil, or that it requires a special 
nitrogenous manuring, for, as a rule, the highly nitrogenous leguminous 
plants, such as peas, respond more readily to phosphoric acid or to potash 
than they do to nitrogen. Other plants, requiring relatively large quan- 
tities of phosphoric acid or of potash or of lime, seem \o be able to 
gather these ingredients with comparative ease from the soil, and 
respond more readily to an application of other plant food of which 
they contain relatively very little in their composition. 

These two facts then are commonly held: that only a relatively small 
amount of plant food in the soil is in a form which is readily available 
to plants, and a soil is " worn out " or " exhausted " when the store of 
available plant food is used up or depleted, when means must be taken 
by rest, fertilization or by green manuring to increase this available food 
supply; and that plants vary in their powers of gathering food from the 
soil. Starting from this it was suggested that the direct question should 
be put to the soil to find out what was lacking for a maximum produc- 
tion; and with this object extensive series of field experiments with 
fertilizers have been carried out in all parts of this country and abroad. 

It was at first thought, and is still held by some, that this method of 
field experiments with fertilizers would show what the different classes 
of plants require for their best development, and that from these results 
special fertilizers could be prepared for wheat, corn, cotton or for any 
other crop. Professor Atwater carried out a very extensive series of field 
experiments of this kind with the co-operation of farmers in all parts of 
the country. His results show, however, that even in such a compara- 
tively small area as the State of Connecticut the corn crop required very 
different fertilizers on different farms ; on one farm only phosphoric acid 
showed any marked effect in increasing the crop, on another farm potash, 
on another farm nitrogen, and on still another farm all three of these 
elements were required to give any marked increase in the crop. 

These results are not at all uncommon nor exceptional. It is a very 
common experience that the same kind of plant requires different treat- 
ment and responds to different kinds of fertilizers on different soils; and 
further that they respond more readily to different fertilizers in different 
seasons. None of the various schemes which have been suggested for 
determining the amount of available plant food in the soil have given 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 185 

much definite information of more than local interest in regard to the 
special requirements of plants or the soil. 

The results of these field experiments, which have been carried on 
in some places for fifty years, are very uncertain and conflicting, and 
while they are doubtless of value in showing the general needs of a 
particular field, the results cannot be used with safety in the cultivation 
of the same crop on a different kind of soil. 

It is as easy to produce forty bushels of wheat per acre on some of 
our heavy limestone lands as it is to produce five or ten bushels on some 
of the light truck lands of southern Maryland. 

The conditions are so entirely different in these two types of soil 
that it is not to be expected that the same method of cultivation and of 
manuring which gave a yield of forty bushels on the limestone land 
would give an equally large yield on the tiuck soil; and it would be still 
more absurd to suppose that the methods used in the moist climate of 
England would give the same yield on these light truck lands. It is a 
source of great disappointment to many farmers to find a certain brand 
of fertilizer, a certain kind of treatment, or a certain rotation of crops 
which has been eminently successful on the heavy soils of western 
Maryland, or under the peculiar conditions prevailing in England, does not 
give the same results on the lighter soils of southern Maryland. 

The time has passed for blindly following rules of manuring, crop- 
ping or of rotation simply because they have been successfully followed 
for generations in England. The conditions have altogether changed, and 
the successful farmer must specialize his work as the mechanic does, and 
raise only such crops as suit his conditions and surroundings. 

The light fruit and truck lands of southern Maryland have been 
shown by a chemical analysis* to contain as much plant food as the 
fertile grass and wheat lands of northern central and western Maryland. 
So far as the total amount of plant food is concerned, the truck lands 
seem to have as much as many of the stronger types of land, but less 
available plant food. 

Plants require relatively so little of the vast supply of food material 
in the soil, that if the low yield of wheat on these truck soils were due 
solely to a lack of available plant food it would be very easy to add to 
the soil as much plant food as would be required by a large crop; and it 
would be reasonable to expect in this case, as the plant would be 
independent of the soil for its food supply, that a large crop of wheat 
could thus be raised, but this is not so. For even if all the elements of 
plant food required by a large wheat crop were added to the truck soil in 

*The chemical analysis is being made of samples of all the principal soil formations of Maryland by 
Prof. K. L. Packard, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, at the Johns Hopkins University; and 
when this careful chemical work has been completed it will be published in a bulletin. 



186 MARYLAND. 

the most available form, there would be no certainty whatever that the 
yield would be very materially increased. 

Let us inquire, then, what are the conditions which determine the 
peculiar fitness of the different soils in the State for certain crops, and 
see if we have these under any control, so that by changing these 
conditions we can influence the yield or quality of our crops. 

This matter has been treated quite fully in Bulletin No. 4 of the 
Weather Bureau of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and in the 
Monthly Eeport of the Maryland State Weather Service, vol. 2, No. 10, 
January, 1893, both of which have been freely used in the preparation of 
this matter. 

In a green-house, where all the conditions of plant growth are under 
nearly perfect control, the same kind of soil may be used to grow almost 
any kind of plant, whether it be oranges, bananas, pineapples, roses, 
geraniums, tomatoes, cabbages, lettuce or radishes. The same kind of 
soil may be used, but each kind of plant will require certain conditions 
of moisture and heat, and when these conditions are changed the 
development of the plant may be largely controlled. If a geranium be 
wanted for a simple foliage plant it can be kept from blooming and 
developed to a very large size with a great number of leaves by keeping 
the soil moderately warm and moist. If it be desired to have the plant 
bloom profusely the soil must be kept drier and cooler. Thus the 
development of the plant is under nearly perfect control, and it is very 
customary for florists to force their plants to any kind of development 
by the simple control of moisture and heat; to make large and leafy 
plants of them, or to keep them smaller by checking this excessive 
growth of foliage and make them put all their substance into a profusion 
of flowers and fruit. 

We see the same effects in nature. In very heavy, wet soils and in 
wet seasons plants are inclined to grow very large, and they do not put on 
as much fruit as they should, considering the size of the plant and the 
amount of food-material they have gathered from the soil and air. 
Under these conditions tobacco plants are large and rank, the leaves are 
coarse and sappy and do not cure well or take on good color ; on drier 
soils and in drier seasons the leaves have a finer texture and a brighter 
color. The cotton plant shows this influence of the wetness or dryness 
of the soil and of the season to a very marked extent, and wheat shows 
it, although to a less extent. Indeed, it is well known that the "season," 
that is, the conditions of moisture and heat, have far more effect upon 
the crop than fertilizers usually have. The effect of fertilizers them- 
selves is very largely dependent upon the season. We find, then, that in 
nature as in the green-house the development of plants and the yield of 
crops is very largely dependent upon the conditions of moisture and 
heat under which they are grown. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 187 

We have a large number of distinct types of soils in Maryland, 
ranging in texture and in agricultural value from the very light, sandy 
soils of the pine barrens and of the truck lands to the very heavy 
limestone soils of western Maryland. The light, sandy soils are so open 
and porous that water readily descends through them after a rain. The 
heavy limestone soils, on the other hand, are so close in texture and so 
retentive of moisture that the rainfall passes down through them very 
slowly. The rainfall does not do the crops any good until it enters the 
soil. Even assuming that we have the same amount and distribution of 
rainfall over the whole State, the soils are so different in their retentive 
powers that some will maintain much more of this rainfall for the crop 
than others. 

For example, the limestone soil will maintain, on an average, from 
18 to 20 per cent, of water, or about 400 tons of water per acre one foot 
deep ; while the light truck soils will maintain only about a quarter of 
this amount, that is, about 5 or 6 per cent, of moisture, or say 100 tons of 
water per acre. The limestone soil to the depth of one foot maintains an 
amount corresponding to 4 inches of rainfall, while the light, sandy 
truck land maintains an equivalent of only 1 inch of rainfall. Now the 
difference in the effect on a crop of a season when there are 4 inches of 
rainfall a month, and when there is only 1 inch of rainfall a month, is 
very great. For if we have an average of 4 inches of well-distributed 
rainfall a month a good wheat crop is assured on the limestone soils, 
but if we have an average of only 1 inch of rainfall a month the crop will 
be a failure. As a matter of fact we have, on an average, about 4 inches 
of rainfall a month in Maryland, and this is sufficient for a good wheat 
crop on the limestone soils, but, as we have seen, the light, sandy truck 
lands are so porous that they let this water down very freely, and only 
maintain for the crop an amount equal to about 1 inch of the rainfall. 
The effect is nearly the same as if the soil were uniform in both cases, 
and 4 inches of rain had fallen on the crop on the limestone soil, but 
only one inch had fallen on the other crop. 

Now we have seen that if there should be as much difference as this 
in the amount of water supplied to plants in a green-house, that those 
plants which received the most water would develop into large, leafy 
plants, which would be late in coming to maturity, while the plants 
receiving the less amount of water would be smaller, but there would be 
a greater tendency to fruit, and the plants would mature much earlier. 
This is precisely the effect on the two soils under consideration. When 
wheat is sown on the sandy truck soil it does not tiller well, but throws 
up one or two stalks which attain hardly any size before each takes on a 
seed head and the plant ripens. The conditions have not been favorable 
for the development of a sufficient amount of foliage to gather enough 



188 



MARYLAND. 



plant food from the soil and atmosphere for a large crop, but the plant 
has been forced to maturity before it has attained sufficient size. The 
crop is large in proportion to the amount of food material which has 
been gathered by the plant, but there is relatively so little of this that it 
gives a very small yield per acre. On the heavy limestone soil, on the 
other hand, the crop grows slowly, gets a good root development, tillers 
well, and produces a mass of foliage which gathers a quantity of food 
material from the soil and air. 

The conditions in these light, sandy soils, while unfavorable as a 
rule to wheat and grass, are distinctly favorable for forcing crops to an 
early development, and this is what gives them their great value for 
early truck. By forcing these vegetables to an early maturity the crop 
is put on the market two or three weeks earlier than is possible 
on the heavier soils of the State, and it gets the benefit of a high mar- 
ket price; while the same crop grown on a limestone soil would be so late 
in coming to maturity that it would have to compete with all other parts 
of the State, and there would likely be a glut in the market and the 
crop would bring a very low price. 

A number of samples of soils were taken in the truck area of southern 
Maryland which show the relation of the texture of the soils to the local 
distribution of plants. 

The following table gives the mechanical analysis of the sub-soils, 
showing the amount of the different grades of sand, silt and clay : 

MECHANICAL ANALYSES OF TRUCK AND WHEAT SUBSOILS FROM SOUTHERN 

MARYLAND. 



Conventional Names. 



EadyTruck, Truck and Tomatoes, ' Wneat £ nd 
Marley. Small Fruit.! Cabbage, Grass 



mm. 

2-1 

1-.5 

.5- 35 

.35-.1 

.1-.05 

.05-. 01 

.01-. 005 

.005-. 0001 



Fine gravel 

Coarse sand. . . 
Medium sand . . 

Fine sand 

Very flue sand. 

Silt 

Fine, silt 

Clay 



Total 

Organic matter, water, loss. 



0.49 


0.76 


2.05 


4.96 


8.55 


3.31 


40.19 ! 


35.04 


5 41 


27.59 


19.26 


2.89 


12.10 i 


8.42 


6.06 


7.74 


11.38 


40.15 


2.23 


4.13 


13.14 


4.40 


10.59 


23.84 


99.70 


9S.13 


96.85 


0.30 1 


1.87 


3.15 



0.00 
0.38 
1.07 
0.78 
3.41 
43. OS 
13.81 
30.21 



92.80 
7.20 



Clay. 



Surface 
area. 



Approximate 

number 

of grains per 

gram . 



472 
467 
478 



Early truck, Marley 

Truck and small fruit 

Peas, tomatoes, cabbage, wheat 
Strong wheat and grass land 



4.40 
10.59 



Sq. an. 

615 
1,244 
2,242 
3,479 



1,950,000,000 
4,767,000,000 
10,923,000,000 
14,457,000,000 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 189 

472 represents the very early truck lands of Marley, which will be 
described in another place. The other soils were taken about three or 
four miles from Marley, and are from the same farm and only a few 
hundred feet apart, so that all the soils are under practically the same 
meteorological conditions and have practically the same amount of rain- 
fall. 

480 is a strong grass and wheat land from a ridge having an elevation 
of about 160 feet. It would be classed anywhere as a strong wheat soil 
and very good grass land. 

478 came from a level plateau or terrace just under the ridge, and 
was evidently formed of the same material. It is a much lighter soil 
than that on the top of the ridge, but it is still a good wheat land. It is 
too heavy for sweet potatoes and cantaloupes, and it is too heavy for 
early truck. It is considered a good tomato, corn and cabbage land, 
although the crops do not ripen as early as on the lighter soils. Peas do 
well on this land, but they cannot be grown two years in succession, for 
the large amount of nitrogenous matter in the roots and vines makes the 
soil very close and heavy, and the second year there is a large amount of 
pea vines, but a very small crop of peas is obtained from them. Wheat 
is nearly always sown after the peas, then grass, followed by corn, and 
then peas again. Some such rotation as this is necessary to keep the 
land open and in good condition. 

467 is well suited to truck and small fruits. It is a coarse, sandy 
soil, and matures the crops very much earlier than either of those just 
mentioned. It is not as light in texture nor as early as the truck lands 
at Marley. 

472 is a typical sandy truck land from Marley. The crop matures 
on this land from one to three weeks earlier than on the other soils 
mentioned, and while the yield per acre is not as large, the crop brings a 
very much higher market price. 

The productiveness of these lands increases with the amount of clay 
they contain and with the number of grains of sand and clay per 
gram. These are the very conditions which determine the relation of 
the soils to water and the amount of moisture they maintain. It cannot 
be doubted that the peculiar adaptation of these soils to the different 
kinds of crops is due to the texture of the land and to the relation of the 
soils to water. 

The strong clay soil (480) is not lacking in any particular plant food 
which would be required by a crop of sweet potatoes or of cantaloupes. 
It probably contains the elements of plant food needed by a crop of 
tomatoes, but the tomato vines would be large and bushy — they would 
be late in coming to maturity, and the yield would be very small in 
proportion to the size of the plants. All kinds of truck would be late in 



190 MARYLAND. 

coming to maturity. These are signs that the soil is too moist and has 
retained too much of the rainfall for the best and earliest development of 
these crops. These conditions are favorable to grass and wheat, for both 
these crops require a long and slow period of growth so that they can put 
on a large amount of foliage before it is time to ripen a crop. 

The light truck land, on the contrary, will not grow a large crop of 
grass or wheat because the conditions are not favorable to the slow 
growth required by these plants to produce foliage to gather food 
material from the soil and air, as previously explained, for the crop. 

If these truck soils were systematically irrigated, and the crops on 
them were supplied, either naturally or artificially, with more water 
than the soils themselves can maintain under existing climatic condi- 
tions, good crops of grass or wheat could be grown. The very conditions 
which make them unfit for grass and wheat, however, give them their 
peculiar value for early truck, as the crops are forced to maturity much 
earlier than they can be produced on the heavier soils of the State. 
With exactly the same rainfall these light truck lands will maintain 
about five or six per cent, of water, while the heavier grass or wheat 
land (480) will maintain about fourteen to sixteen per cent, of water. 

It seems probable, from this and other evidence, that if the physical 
conditions of moisture and heat are favorable to the proper development 
of crops, that plants can, in general, get all the food they need from any 
soil. 

The relative amount of moisture which these soils can maintain will 
depend not only upon how many grains there are in one gram, but upon 
the way in which these grains are arranged, as well as upon the amount 
and condition of the organic matter in the soil. It is a well known fact 
that the continued use of lime on stiff heavy clay lands makes them 
looser and more loamy, and less retentive of moisture. Indeed, lime is 
very injurious to light sandy lands unless there is sufficient organic matter 
" for the lime to act on." For if the lime is used on such lands when 
there is an insufficient supply of organic matter, the soils are made still 
less retentive of moisture. If there is sufficient organic matter, however, 
in the soil, or supplied artificially, for the lime to act on, it makes even 
these light soils closer in texture and more retentive of moisture. This 
is the reason why lime is so universally beneficial to all classes of soils; 
but with the heavy, impervious clay soils it must be used alone, while 
with the light sandy soils it must be used in connection with organic 
matter. 

In the deterioration of lands, when soils become " worn out " or 
" exhausted," the texture of the soil changes so as to change the rela- 
tion of the soil to water, and the soil may thereafter be able to maintain 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 191 

either more or less water than formerly, which will make the conditions 
unfavorable for the crop. 

The development of the crop shows very plainly that the conditions 
of moisture in the soil have changed, for the plants are either inclined 
to excessive growth of foliage, or they ripen up while the plants are still 
small, as the case may he. 

Fertilizers have a very marked effect on the texture of soils, and it 
is possible, through their use, to change the arrangement of the grains 
of sand and clay, and so make the soil more or less retentive of moisture. 
We thus have in our manures and fertilizers very powerful means of 
maintaining or of changing the texture of the soil through the arrange- 
ments of the soil grains, thereby changing the conditions of moisture 
and heat, which they can maintain for the crop. This physical effect of 
fertilizers is probably of the very greatest importance. 

The following table gives a list of the most important soil forma- 
tions in Maryland, with their location, the crops best adapted to them, 
the average content of sand, silt and clay showing the texture of the 
lands, the surface area of the grains and the approximate number of 
grains in one gram. 

The relative agricultural value of these lands for the staple crops is 
about as given in the table ; the Trenton limestone being the finest type 
of grass and wheat land, and the Lafayette being the poorest in the 
State. The agricultural value for these staple crops increases with the 
percentage of clay. 



192 



MARYLAND. 



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AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 193 

A number of the important soil formations of the State have not 
been studied in sufficient detail to enable them to be arranged in the 
above table, but these will be described further on. 

The soils in the table have been arranged according to the percent- 
age of clay in the subsoil, for this clay, as we have seen, practically 
determines the texture of the land, the relation of the soils to the rain- 
fall, and the amount of water which the soils can maintain for the 
crops. When thus arranged according to their content of clay, the soils 
are in the order of their relative agricultural value for the staple crops; 
that is, the more clay the lands contain the more valuable they are for 
grass and wheat, provided the grains of sand and clay are well arranged. 
Another interesting thing is that the figures here given for the percent- 
age of clay also represent very nearly the yield of wheat per acre which 
could be expected from these lands under good treatment. For instance, 
the same care and treatment which would be necessary to obtain a yield' 
of forty to forty-five bushels per acre from the Trenton limestone, around 
Frederick or Hagerstown, would give about thirty bushels per acre on 
the gabbro, from ten to twenty bushels on the tobacco and wheat lands 
of southern Maryland, and from three to five bushels per acre on the 
light truck lands and pine barrens. Provided, therefore, that the grains 
of sand and clay are well arranged in the soil, the yield of wheat per 
acre under good treatment, and under the prevailing climatic conditions 
is very nearly expressed by the percentage of clay. 

It is interesting also to note that the percentage of clay, as given in 
the table, represents very nearly the actual value of these lands for 
wheat, the land being worth about one dollar per acre for every per cent. 
of clay. The Trenton limestone lands are worth from $40 to $60 per 
acre, except where they are very favorably situated near towns and on 
first-class turnpikes, when they may be worth much more than this. If 
the Trenton limestone is worth on the average about $45 per acre, the 
gabbro soil would be worth about $30 or $35 per acre, the tobacco and 
wheat lands of southern Maryland would be worth from $15 to $25 per 
acre, and the early truck lands and pine barrens from $1 to $5 per acre 
for this staple crop. As a matter of fact, these are about the present 
market values of these lands for these staple crops. 

The area and distribution of these lands can be seen on the accompa- 
nying geological and agricultural map of the State. 

THE PRINCIPAL SOIL FORMATIONS OP THE STATE. 

The principal soils of the State have been classified according to 
their agricultural value or adaptation for the old staple crops — grass, 
wheat, corn and tobacco — and according to their geological origin. There 
are obviously many considerations which help to determine the real 

13 



194 MARYLAND. 

market value of lands, apart from their adaptation to crops. For 
example, the distance to market, the ease and cost of transportation, and 
the condition of the roads over which the products have to be hauled 
have much to do with the market value of lands. These factors have 
not been considered in the classification. It must be remembered also 
that the soils are arranged in the order of their value for the old staple 
crops, and that the present agricultural values of these lands when 
devoted to the crops for which they are especially adapted are very 
different. For example, the truck soils, which come near the bottom of 
the list in their value for grass and wheat, have a market value for early 
truck much greater than the heavy limestone grass lands, where facili- 
ties are available for transportation of the truck to market. 

SOILS OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN CENTRAL MARYLAND. 

The Trenton limestone forms the strongest and most fertile lands in 
the State, such as the fertile valleys around Hagerstown and Frederick. 
The limestone areas in the Piedmont Plateau and the marble areas north 
of Baltimore have soils which are very similar in texture to the Trenton 
limestone soils, and agriculturally may be classed with them. 

The subsoil of the Trenton limestone formation contains about 45 
per cent, of clay, and has about 22,000,000,000 grains of sand and clay in one 
gram, giving a very close texture and making the land very retentive of 
moisture. The grains have about 5,000 square centimetres of surface 
area in one gram (15 J grains), and this gives a very large extent of surface 
for water to act on in dissolving food material from the soil and for roots 
to feed on. 

The limestone soils are not especially rich in lime, but, on the con- 
trary, are usually deficient in this substance. The soils are the impur- 
ities which were originally contained in the limestone rock, which have 
been left behind as the lime has been dissolved and carried off by water. 
There is, of course, a very small amount of impurities in the limestone 
rock, and after the large amount of lime has been dissolved the impurities 
settle, and, as a consequence, the limestone soils are nearly always valley 
lands, with ridges on either side formed of rocks which were much less 
soluble than the limestone. Another important fact is that the lime is 
in the form of a carbonate, which is readily soluble in water containing 
carbonic acid gas in solution, whereas the lime, in most ordinary soils, is 
in the form of sulphate or silicate, either of which is much less soluble 
in water than the carbonate ; so it happens that, strange as it may seem, 
these limestone soils are frequently deficient in lime, and there is no 
class of soils in the State which is more benefited by an application of 
lime than these same soils, resulting from the disintegration of the lime- 
stone rocks. It is frequently the practice, in these limestone regions, to 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 195 

get out the rock, and burn it in kilns, and spread it directly on the land 
from which it came. 

The limestone lands are underlain by a stiff, heavy yellow or red 
clay subsoil, sufficiently close in texture and retentive of moisture to 
maintain an abundant supply of moisture for the crop in all ordinary 
seasons. Nevertheless they have good surface and under drainage, and 
they are, for these reasons, admirably adapted to grass, and they form 
the finest type of grass land in the State. 

There are in the Cumberland valley a number of different grades of 
soil. Along the rivers the subsoils are very heavy, stiff clay, with from 
six to eight inches of somewhat lighter loam soil on top. On the ridges, 
between the rivers, the lands are lighter, the stiff yellow clay is found at 
a greater depth, and the lands are not as strong nor as fertile. Farmers 
recognize this fact, and value the land according to its texture. The 
heavier lands, wherever this stiff yellow or red clay comes within eight 
or ten inches of the surface, are more valuable for grass; the lighter 
lands are rather better for wheat, and the still lighter loams, where this 
clay is from twelve to eighteen inches below the surface, are better for 
corn ; the heavier lands are more valuable for general farming, and they 
can stand more ill-usage and harder farming. The lighter loams, that is 
where the stiff clay is from twelve to eighteen inches below the surface, 
require more care and attention and more fertilization to maintain their 
fertility. These lands are worth from $40 to $60 per acre, depending, 
partly, upon the texture and condition of the land and partly, of course, 
upon their position, nearness to the markets, and condition of the roads 
over which the crops have to be hauled. Lands situated directly on a 
first-class turnpike, and within easy hauling distance of a railroad station, 
may be worth much more than the figures given. Until very recently, 
these limestone soils were considered the most valuable in the State, and 
they readily brought from $60 to $200 an acre, and more, for grass, wheat 
and stock raising. At that time our light truck lands had merely a 
nominal value of from $1 to $5 per acre. With the changed condition of 
agriculture due to the greatly improved transportation facilities, grass, 
wheat and stock can be more cheaply raised in the West, and the value 
of these limestone lands has declined, while the value of the light truck 
lands has risen to a value which is comparable only with the former 
value of the limestone lands. 

These limestone lands are admirably adapted, however, to the higher 
class of farming, in the production of the staple crops, stock raising, the 
fattening of cattle and the dairy interest. With good treatment thirty to 
forty bushels of wheat can be raised to the acre, and even more than this, 
and it is the very finest type of land for hay and pasturage. It may well 



196 MABYLAND. 

serve as a standard with which to compare the other soil formations of 
the State. 

Next to the Trenton limestone, the soils derived from the disintegra- 
tion of the Helderberg or mountain limestone are the strongest and most 
fertile grass and wheat lands in the State. There is only a small area of 
these lands in several narrow strips crossing the State, in Washington and 
Alleghany counties. The lands are rather high and rolling, and have 
excellent surface drainage; they are admirably adapted to grass and 
wheat. 

These lands have about 40 per cent, of clay in the sub-soil, which is 
only slightly less than the heaviest Trenton limestone lands, and which 
is more adapted to corn than the lighter loam soils of the Trenton forma- 
tion. This soil is nearly as close in texture and as retentive of moisture 
as the Trenton limestone, and there is not much difference in the yield 
of crops or in the general agricultural value of the lands. 

The soils derived from the disintegration of the Catskill red sand- 
stone in Garrett and Alleghany counties and from the triassic red 
sandstone forming the " red lands " of Carroll and Frederick counties, are 
so nearly alike in texture and in agricultural value that they may be 
described together. It has been estimated that there are about three 
hundred and twenty square miles of each of these formations in the State. 
The color of each is very characteristic, dark Indian red, with only a 
difference of a shade in the two soils. These lands have about 35 per 
cent, of clay in the sub-soil, which gives them good body and makes them 
very retentive of moisture and well adapted to grass, whept and corn. In 
favorable seasons they are as productive as the Trenton limestone soils, 
but the crops are not as certain, for they are affected by unfavorable 
seasons. 

The triassic red sandstone soils occur next to the limestone soils of 
the Frederick valley, and a close comparison is therefore possible between 
the two kinds of soil. In favorable seasons the yield of wheat on the 
"red lands" is about the same as on the adjacent limestone lands, but the 
crop is much more influenced by unfavorable seasons, and the soil itself 
will not stand the hard usage, and requires more careful treatment and 
rather more fertilization than the limestone lands; so while it is very 
productive it is not considered quite as safe nor as certain as the lime- 
stone soil. Like the limestone lands it is greatly benefited by an 
application of lime. 

The soils derived from the disintegration of gabbro, forming the "red 
lands " of Cecil, Harford and Baltimore counties, of gneiss, forming the 
"gray lands" and "mica lands" of Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Carroll, 
Howard and Montgomery counties, and of phillite, forming the wheat and 
corn lands of Harford, Carroll, Frederick, Howard and Montgomery 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 197 

counties, are so similar in their texture and in their agricultural value 
that they may be described together. 

These lands have about thirty per cent, of clay in the subsoil, and 
they are sufficiently retentive of moisture to make excellent wheat and 
corn lands and very fair grass lands. They may be considered in every 
way good average soils for general agriculture, being adapted to grass, 
wheat, corn and grazing and stock feeding and to the raising of vegetables 
for canning. They are too heavy in texture to compete with the light 
truck lands of southern Maryland in the production of vegetables for the 
early markets. 

The "red lands" of the gabbro formation are rather stronger than the 
others, and as a consequence they are usually somewhat harder to work 
and require more labor to keep them in a good state of tilth. The gneiss 
lands are, as a rule, somewhat lighter in texture than the gabbro, and are 
better suited for the raising of corn and tomatoes for canning, which is 
such an extensive industry in Harford and the adjacent counties. 

The average yield of wheat on these lands under good treatment is 
from twenty to thirty bushels per acre, although larger yields have been 
reported. The price of wheat has fallen so low in recent years that these 
yields per acre are hardly large enough to make the cultivation of this 
crop very profitable. While it is still a staple crop in these northern- 
central counties, it is being replaced to quite a large extent by other 
interests, especially the raising of tomatoes and corn for canning and by 
other special agricultural lines. While grass and the cereals will always 
be staple crops in this region, the lands are so well adapted to general 
agriculture, and the location is so favorable as regards the nearness of 
markets and transportation facilities that other special interests will 
undoubtedly be developed which will be much more profitable than the 
old staple crops. Agriculture is very conservative and its methods are 
slow, and it takes a long while for it to adjust itself to changed conditions 
in the industrial and commercial lines, but there are evidences to show 
that the farmers here are beginning to specialize and adjust their products 
to the demands or conditions of the market. 

These are the most important soil formations of northern-central 
and western Maryland which have been carefully studied. There are 
other soils having either little agricultural value or which are adapted to 
special crops, which have not yet been sufficiently investigated. These 
may be briefly described. 

In western Maryland there is a narrow belt of Cambrian sandstone 
devoted to the cultivation of mountain peaches, an interest which has 
recently grown to very large proportions. The soil is fine-grained, 
containing probably about thirty per cent, of clay. It is filled, however, 
with fragments of rock which are fiat and look like pieces of shale. The 



198 MARYLAND. 

situation has much to do with the quality and color of the peaches. The 
most favorable situation is up on the mountain side where there is 
perfect surface drainage and a northern exposure, and a soil so stony that 
it is difficult to take a sample of any considerable depth. With this 
exposure the trees are insured against damage by early frost. In the 
adjacent valley, and with a southern exposure on the mountain side, 
vegetation is liable to be started by a warm spell in the winter and be 
suddenly checked and the fruit buds killed by frost in the spring. With 
the proper exposure, however, vegetation does not start until well into 
the spring, when danger of frost is over. There are, undoubtedly, other 
soils in the western part of the State as well adapted to peaches, and this 
industry will certainly spread. The soils appear almost identical with 
some of those derived from the Hudson River shales and from several of 
the mountain formations further west ; and with the proper exposure as 
good results are being obtained further west as in this now celebrated 
region of the Cambrian sandstone around Pen-Mar, Edgemont and 
Smithsburg. 

The very fertile soils of the Middletown valley have not been care- 
fully studied, as the geology of this region has only very recently been 
worked out, giving a basis for the soil investigations. 

There is a considerable area of the Hamilton and Chemung shales in 
western Maryland, but the rocks have not thoroughly disintegrated, 
and the soil is full of pieces of the shale, making it hard to work and 
rather unproductive for the staple crops. There are about 125 square 
miles of this formation, having the widest exposure about Hancock and 
on either side of the Polish Mountain. The Clinton and Niagara shales 
give very similar soils, but they occur only in very narrow ridges. These 
lands have about 40 per cent, of clay in the subsoil, which would give 
them a close texture and make them very strong and fertile lands but 
for the very large amount of boulders and fragments of shale making the 
land hard to cultivate. The lands are mostly in forest growth, or sup- 
port but a scanty vegetation. They have good body, however, and are 
capable of being improved. 

The Hudson river shales, in Washington county, are not naturally 
good wbeat lands. They yield about 15 bushels of wheat to the acre 
under ordinary treatment, but they can be easily improved and made to 
yield more than this. The lands are rather light in texture, and they are 
not as strong nor as sale as the adjacent limestone lands, and they are 
probably much better adapted to fruit than to wheat, except for the 
danger from frost, which is liable to kill the buds. Lime is considered 
very beneficial to these lands. Many of the lands are filled with frag- 
ments of shale, and appear very similar in texture to the Cambrian sand- 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 199 

stone, and they would probably make as good peach lands if the same 
exposure could be obtained. 

The soils of the coal measures in the extreme western part of the 
State have not been worked out because there is no detailed geological 
work to base the soil work upon. These soils are derived from the disin- 
tegration of sandstones, shales and limestones, but the boundaries of 
these different formations have never been determined. 

The other formations in western Maryland are mountainous, and 
occur only in narrow strips, and have little agricultural interest. In 
northern-central Maryland there are small areas derived from the disin- 
tegration of granite, which are altogether similar in texture and agricul- 
tural value to the gneiss soils. 

The soils derived from the disintegration of serpentine are generally 
barren, but why they are so 1 as not been determined. 

There are several narrow belts of soil derived from quartzite, which 
are of very limited extent and have not been studied. 

In addition to these there are the light truck lands on the river 
necks, but these will be fully described in another place. 

SOILS OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND. 

The strongest and most fertile soils of southern Maryland are in the 
diatomaceous horizon of the Chesapeake formation. This gives rise to 
three grades of soil — the lighter lands, having from 12 to 18 per cent, of 
clay in the subsoils, form the finest tobacco lands of southern Maryland; 
where the subsoils contain from 18 to 25 per cent, of clay they are well 
adapted to wheat ; and where they contain from 25 to 35 per cent, of 
clay they are sufficiently strong for good grass lands. There has been 
no attempt as yet to determine the limit of these different soils, nor is it 
known exactly what the distribution depends on ; whether they repre- 
sent distinct horizons in the Chesapeake formation or whether it is due 
merely to local causes acting since the sedimentary material was 
deposited is not known. 

The subsoil has a very characteristic yellow or reddish color. In 
many places the pure white diatomaceous earth can be seen underlying 
these lands at a depth of 2 or 3 feet, the yellow subsoil having been 
formed from the diatomaceous material by weathering. The yellow sub- 
soil contains, as a rule, from 25 to 35 per cent, of clay, and where this 
comes within 8 or 10 inches of the surface it makes the soils very reten- 
tive of moisture and well adapted to grass and wheat. Where this sub- 
soil is more than 1 2 inches from the surface and is overlain by a lighter 
loam, the lands are rather too light for grass, but are still well adapted to 
wheat. Where the loam is still lighter in texture, and has not over 18 



200 MARYLAND. 

per cent, of clay, it is too light for the profitable production of wheat, 
but is well adapted to tobacco. 

The wheat lands of southern Maryland are lighter in texture than 
the wheat and grass lands of northern Maryland, and the average yield 
per acre is much less. It is said that these wheat lands have deteriorated 
in recent years for the lack of proper preparation and treatment of the 
land due to the scarcity and high price of labor, to the small yield and 
low price of wheat and to the fact that much of the land has been 
heavily mortgaged for the last twenty-five years. 

It used to be the rule to apply lime every five years, and to depend 
on this and on clover to keep up the wheat land, but this rule is being 
neglected. There is little money to spend in fertilization; lime is more 
rarely used, if at all, and the lands are becoming clover-sick. 

Wheat and tobacco are commonly grown on the same land, in rota- 
tion periods of two or three years. The best lands for wheat, however, 
are the heaviest clay lands, while the finest quality of tobacco is produced 
on the lighter loams. The heavy clay lands produce a larger yield of 
tobacco per acre, but the plant has a coarse, thick leaf, which is sappy, 
cures green and will not take on color. The finest grade of tobacco is 
produced on the lighter loam soils, which are rather too light for the 
profitable production of wheat. Tobacco produces a small yield per acre 
on these soils, but the leaf has a fine texture, and in curing it takes a 
good color and brings a much better price in the market. As a rule, the 
lighter the soil in texture, the finer the quality of tobacco produced, and 
the higher price it will bring per pound, but the less yield there will be 
per acre; so that there is a limit to the profitable production of the very 
finest grades on the very lightest lands, as the price is not sufficient to 
cover the small yield per acre. 

The accompanying table gives the mechanical analyses of the sub- 
soils of tobacco lands from a number of localities in southern Maryland : 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 



201 



MECHANICAL ANALYSES OF SUBSOILS FROM SOUTHERN MARYLAND, 
LIGHT FOR WHEAT, BUT THE FINEST TOBACCO LANDS. 







Conventional Names. 


266. 


25S. 


164. 


260. 


262. 


162. 


Diameter. 


Chaney- 
ville. 


Marl- 
boro. 


North 
Key.- . 


Notting- 
ham. 


Chaney- 
ville. 


Marl- 
boro. 


mm. 
2 1 




1.40 
2.94 
11.23 
13.42 
19.32 
17.59 
5.44 
10.72 


1.53 

5.67 
13.25 

8.39 
14.95 
28.86 

7.84 
14.55 


0.58 
0.50 
1.35 

10.65 
37.70 
22.00 
7.81 
16.02 


0.48 
3.05 
12.08 
12.09 
19.17 
23.09 
8.74 
18.42 


0.00 
0.07 
1.56 
13.51 
37.73 
18.82 
6.18 
18.79 




1-.5 




0.13 


.5-. 25 




0.58 


.25-.1 




4.90 


.1-.05 




26.78 


.05-. 01 


Silt 


33.12 


.01-. 005 




8.24 


.005 .0001 


Clay 


21.81 




Total 






97.06 
2.94 


95.04 
4.96 


96.72 
3.28 


97.12 
2.HS 


96.67 
4.33 


95.65 


Organic mat 




4.33 










No. 


Locality. 


Clay. 


Surface 
area. 


Approximate 
number 

of grains per 
gram . 




Chanej 
Upper 
North 
Nottin 
Chanej 
Upper 






Per Cent. 
10 72 
14.55 
16.C2 
18.42 
18 79 


Sq. cm. 

1.370 
1.902 
2.016 
2.126 
2.197 


4,891,000,000 

6,786,0l)ii,()(K) 


■'is 






164 






7,338,000,000 


260 






8,263,000,000 
8,530,000,000 
10,065,000,000 


Wl 






10:3 






21.81 




2.638 





The finest quality of tobacco is produced on the soils shown to have 
the smallest amount of clay and the smallest number of grains per gram 
in this table, while the heavier soils are much better for wheat and give 
a larger yield of tobacco per acre, but the quality of the tobacco is not so 
good, and it does not bring as good a market price. With the exception 
of 162, none of these soils would be considered very good wheat lands 
with the ordinary conditions of cultivation and manuring. They would 
be considered rather too light for the economical production of wheat. 
These lands are valued for wheat in proportion to the amount of clay 
contained in the subsoils, as shown in the table, but for tobacco the 
values are just reversed. 

The strongest and best wheat lands appear to be confined to the diato- 
maceous earth horizon of the Neocene formation. The white dia.tomaceous 
earth can be found a few feet below the surface at all, or nearly all, the 
localities represented in the accompanying tables. The yellow clay of 
the wheat land appears to have been formed by the weathering of this 
earth, as in a number of railroad cuts and river bluffs they are seen to 
merge together ; and in all cases where air has had access to the diatoma- 
ceous earth through cracks and root holes, a thin layer of the yellow 
clay has been formed. Diatoms are still found in most of these samples 
of the subsoils of the wheat and tobacco lands. 



202 



MARYLAND. 



There are two classes of wheat lands. On the ridges and high 
plateaus, where washing has not occurred to any extent, the lands are 
rather light and loamy, the loam being usually from two to four feet 
thick and overlying the heavier clay. These lands are better for corn 
than the heavier lands, but are not so good for wheat, and are too light in 
texture for grass. Where the underlying clay is exposed, as in the gently 
rolling lands, it makes a much stronger and better wheat soil and a good 
grass land. The accompanying table gives the mechanical analyses of 
the subsoils from a number of localities representing very fairly the 
wheat lands of southern Maryland : 

MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SUBSOILS OF WHEAT LANDS FROM SOUTHERN 
MARYLAND. 









350. 


248. 


245. 


180. 


155. 


246. 


141. 


252. 


1S4. 






frj 


6 






5 

c3 


e 










P* 


P- 


o . 




d 


n 


o t^ 






Diameter. 


Conventional Names. 


i-= 


of 


_ja 




o 


o« 


oT' a 










£$ 


'P cd 


'>a 


£ 


c3 




IS C 


> 








■PS 


o 3 

Oh 


S> 


o 
P* 


s 


£° 




M 


O 












g 






T3 . 


ja 








a 


> 




p. 





■pH 




P. 








a 


a 


B 


£ 


X 


fi 


o 

00 


Pn 


mm. 

2-1 
1-.5 

.5-. 25 




0.00 
0.07 
0.98 


0.00 
0.23 
2.76 


0.83 
0.28 
0.98 


0.00 
0.00 
0.48 


0.00 
0.40 
0.57 


0.00 
0.56 
31.26 


0.00 
0.23 
1.71 


0.00 
0.25 
0.39 


0.00 




0.46 




6 61 


.35-. 1 

.1-.05 
.05-.01 
.0I-.005 
.005-.0001 




12.22 
29.58 
22.19 
10.13 
19.14 


12.85 
47.13 
12.89 
4.07 
19.19 


1.74 
52.74 
16.91 

3.35 
19.57 


3.06 
50.32 
14.19 

6.78 
20.38 


22.64 
30.55 
13.98 
4.08 
21.98 


4.62 
30.70 
26.16 

9.44 
32.53 


6.08 

30. S3 
30.03 
11.21 
23.78 


10.65 
29.05 
22.45 
6.56 
33.92 


12.19 




9.15 




30.89 




13.33 


Clay 


24.45 




95.31 
4.69 


99.11 
0.89 


95.82 
4.18 


95.11 i 94.20 
4.89 [ 5.80 


95.27 
4.73 


94.75 
5.25 


96.27 
3.73 


96.97 


Organic mat 




3.03 




















Approximate 


No. 


Locality. 








Clay. 


Surface 
area. 


number 

of grains per 

gram. 












Per Cent. 


Sq. cm. 




250 
348 
3' 5 
180 
155 
3t6 
141 
352 


Chanpwille 








19.14 


2,453 


8,918,000,000 




19.19 


2,097 


8,452,000,000 




19.57 


2,214 


8,917,000,000 


Plum 










20.28 
21.98 


3,380 
2,493 


9,357,000,000 










10,2.8,000,000 




22.53 


2,732 


10,456,000,000 




23.78 


2,853 


11,161,0(10,000 


South 
Pope's 










23.93 
24.45 


2,681 
2,847 


10,933,000,(100 










11,302,000.000 

























These lauds make fairly good wheat lands, but this is about the 
limit of profitable wheat production, and a soil having less than 20 per 
cent, of clay, or approximately 9,000,000,000 grains per gram, is too light 
in texture and not sufficiently retentive of moisture for the economical 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 



203 



production of wheat under the prevailing climatic conditions. This 
represents, however, merely the skeleton structure of the soil, and this 
could be so filled in and modified as to make it more retentive of mois- 
ture; but experience has shown that a soil lighter than this Las not 
sufficient body to warrant the expense of converting it into a good wheat 
land. The soils are too light for grass. They are valued as wheat lands 
in about the order in which they are given in the table, except that it 
would seem that 245 should have been given a higher place in the table, 
as it is considered a very fertile wheat land; but this may have been due 
to the sampling. 

The samples in the accompanying table are of strong wheat and 
grass lands of southern Maryland. They are considered the very finest 
type of wheat lands in that locality : 

MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SUBSOILS OF STRONG WHEAT AND GRASS LANDS 
FROM SOUTHERN MARYLAND. 



.0.5-. 01 
.01-. 005 
.005-. 0001 



Conventional Names. 



Fine Grave I. . . . 

Coarse sand 

Medinm sand. . 

Fine sand 

Very fine sand. 

Silt 

Fine Silt 

Clay 



Davidsonville 
Clay. 



Total 

Organic matter, water, loss. 



0.00 
0.00 
0.29 
2.43 
23.56 
29.23 
6.36 
33.45 



94.32 
5.68 



Davidsonville, 
James Iglehart. 



0.00 
0.27 
0.64 
3.20 
22.58 
26.25 
10.43 
32.40 



95.76 
4.24 



Herring 
Bay. 



0.00 
0.00 
0.50 
3.50 

36.28 
19.04 
6.78 
32.43 



Clay. 



142 Davidsonville, clay, T. S. Iglehart 

247 Davidsonville, James Iglehart 

179 Herring Bay 




Approximate. 
Surface number 

Area. | of grains per 
gram. 



Sq. cm. 

,604 I 15,148,000,000 

3,537 14,903,000,000 

3,389 I 14,433,000,000 



These samples were taken from very rolling lands where the loam, if 
it had ever accumulated, had been removed by washing, leaving exposed 
the yellow clay which seems to underlie all the wheat lands. 

There is a very marked relation between the agricultural value of 
these lands and the texture and general appearance of the soils. If the 
soils are in a fair state of cultivation, in which the arrangement of the 
grains can be assumed to be sensibly the same, the agricultural value 
increases quite regularly with the percentage of clay and the approximate 
number of grains per gram. The yield increases, however, in nearly all 



204 MARYLAND. 

cases and with most crops, at the expense of the quality of the crop pro- 
duced. In the case of tobacco and truck, as the quality or time of 
maturity is of more importance than the quantity of crop produced, the 
lands are valued, within certain limits, as the soil is lighter in texture and 
contains less clay and fewer grains per gram. It is not a matter of the 
chemical composition of the soil nor of the amount of available plant food 
in the soil which determines this local distribution of crops, but it is a 
matter of the texture of the soil, and especially of the relation of the soils 
to water and the amount of water which they can maintain for the crop 
under existing climatic conditions. 

Lime has been considered the very best fertilizer for these wheat 
lands ; but lime with plenty of organic matter in the soil " for the lime to 
act on," otherwise it will " burn out the land; " so that where the lime is 
applied, as it should be every few years, clover or some green manuring is 
considered a necessary adjunct. This combination of lime or organic 
matter would tend to make the soils more retentive of moisture. 

The Marlboro, Davidsonville and West River districts have been 
famous for the excellent condition in which the lands have been main- 
tained, and for the good farming which has prevailed. The value of the 
lands has, however, depreciated in recent years ; labor is scarce and many 
of the farms are heavily mortgaged, so that good farming lands can be 
purchased very cheaply. 

The farmers in this locality suffered severely as a result of the late 
war, and they have been unable to bear up under the burden of their 
debt. They have not yet adjusted themselves to these new and changed 
conditions of agriculture, nor adapted their farming to the present market 
demands. 

A number of efforts have been made to introduce a different variety 
of tobacco into southern Maryland, as the type which has been raised 
there so successfully in the past meets with such wide competition in the 
increased production of this same grade of tobacco in other parts of the 
world. Efforts have been made to introduce the fine bright tobacco of 
North Carolina, but the soils selected for the experiments have been much 
heavier in texture, as shown by the mechanical analysis, than soils adapted 
to this grade of tobacco in the South. There are other soils, however, 
almost identical in texture with those in the South to be found in the 
Columbia and Lafayette formations which are probably well adapted to 
the production of these bright tobaccos. Experiments are to be tried on 
these lighter soils. 

The accompanying table gives the analyses of the sub-soils from four 
localities of the fertile river terraces of southern Maryland: 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 



205 



MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SUBSOILS OF WHEAT LANDS. 

River Terrace. 



.1-.5 

.5-.25 
.25-. 1 

.1-.05 
.05-.01 
.01-. 005 
.005-. 0001 



Conventional Names. 



Fine gravel.... 
Coarse sand . . . 
Medium sand.. 

Fine sand 

Very fine sand. 

Silt 

Fine silt 

Clay 



Total. 



Organic matter, water, loss. 



0.38 
2.72 
11.64 
7.23 
6.74 
33.92 
10.62 
23.45 



St. Mary's. 



0.44 
1.05 
2.67 
5.03 
9.75 
34.82 
14.52 
25.03 



96.70 
3.30 



93.31 



St. Mary's. 



2.01 
5.24 
1.75 
2.17 

2.45 
37.21 
15.52 
29.27 



95.62 



Opposite 
St. Mary's. 



0.41 
0.42 
1.64 
3.45 

9.48 
41.88 
11.98 
26.24 



95.50 
4.50 



Clay. 



Surface 
Area. 



Approximate 

number 

of grains per 

gram. 



199 
201 
205 
203 



Benedict 

Saint Mary's 

Opposite Saint Mary's. 
Saint Mary's 



23.45 
25.03 
26.24 
29.27 



Sq. cm. 

2,765 
2,889 
3,188 
3,509 



10,737,000,000 
11,936,000,000 
l-',205. 000,000 
13,578,000,000 



The river terraces border the Potomac and Patuxent rivers and their 
tributaries in the lower part of the peninsula, and are considered very 
strong wheat lands. They are classed geologically with the Columbia 
formation; but, as will be seen from the mechanical analyses, and as 
shown from the agricultural value of the lands, they are very much 
stronger soils than those of the same formation on the bay shore, which 
form the early truck lands between Baltimore and Annapolis. The 
terraces have an elevation of from twenty to sixty feet above tide, and 
are about half a mile wide, with the Lafayette formation rising beyond 
this into the pine barrens of the higher lands further inland. The 
terrace lands have good body, and are capable of a very high state of 
cultivation, and many of them are maintained in excellent condition. 
Some of the land around St. Mary's has been under cultivation for two 
hundred years without apparent deterioration, although there is nothing 
at all peculiar in the appearance of the land to indicate any unusual con- 
ditions. The soil is about six or eight inches deep, but neither the soil 
nor subsoil appears to have more organic matter than is usual in the lands 
of southern Maryland, nor do they appear different from the same class 
of lands elsewhere. They have been taken care of, and have been very 
intelligently handled. 

There is a narrow strip of coarse, sandy soils bordering the Chesa- 
peake Bay, from Baltimore down to South River, entirely devoted to the 



206 MARYLAND. 

production of early truck and vegetables for the Baltimore and the 
larger northern and western markets. This same character of soil is 
found on the Eastern Shore and along the Atlantic coast as far south as 
Florida, and it is very generally devoted to truck farming. 

The sandy soils and subsoils of the early truck lands between Balti- 
more and Annapolis contain from four to ten per cent, of clay. Other 
things being equal, the lighter the soil, and the less clay it contains, the 
earlier the crop. Soils having over seven per cent, of clay are rather 
heavy for the earliest truck, but are well suited to tomatoes, cabbage, 
small fruits and peaches. Geologically, these light soils belong to the 
Columbia formation. A large part of this area is still lying out as a 
barren and unproductive waste for lack of proper facilities for transporta- 
tion. This matter of cheap and quick transportation is so great a factor 
in the trucking interest, owing to the bulky and perishable nature of the 
market truck and small fruits, that lands directly on the water courses, or 
on the railroads, have a value many times greater than similar lands 
situated only a mile or two distant. 

Peas, tomatoes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, watermelons, canteloupes, 
strawberries, raspberries and peaches may be grown, and are grown, with 
more or less success, on nearly all kinds of soil ; but this area of sandy 
land in southern Maryland will produce these crops from one to three 
weeks earlier than the heavier wheat and grass lands in other parts of the 
State. This puts the truck into the Baltimore and northern markets 
much earlier than it can be produced on the heavier soils of the State, 
and insures the early truck farmers from competition from the State at 
large, and they get very fair prices, as their crops are sold before the 
market prices fall with the glut of summer vegetables. The trucking 
business requires a very heavy outlay for manuring and for labor, and 
everything depends upon the crop getting to market at the earliest 
possible date, to take advantage of the high prices; and no pains or 
expense is spared to force the maturity of the plant and hasten the 
ripening of the crop. 

The early truck lands are much too light for the profitable production 
of wheat or corn, or of any of the staple crops whose period of growth 
extends into or through the summer months, not because the soils are 
deficient in plant food, but because they are so coarse and open in texture 
that they are unable to maintain a sufficient water supply for these crops 
during the hot spells which are liable to occur. It is not that these 
light, sandy lands produce as much yield per acre of the different kinds 
of market truck as the heavier lands that they are utilized for trucking, 
but that they ripen the crops earlier and so get advantage of the higher 
prices. There are, therefore, peculiar conditions desired in an early 
truck land, just the opposite conditions, indeed, from those required for 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 207 

a good grass or wheat soil. The soil, or rather subsoil, of the truck lands 
should be very light in texture, containing not over ten per cent, of clay, 
and for the very earliest truck not over six per cent. If they have more 
than this the land is too retentive of moisture, and the growing period 
is prolonged and the ripening of the crop is delayed. In the truck land 
with less than six per cent, of clay the soil is drier and probably cooler, 
and these are conditions which would hasten the maturity of the crop. 

Other things being equal, the more clay a soil contains the more 
retentive of moisture it will be, and the greater the amount of moisture 
which will be maintained in the soil for the crop. The fine particles 
of clay not only make the spaces within the soil exceedingly small, so 
that the rainfall must pass downward very slowly through the soil, but 
by increasing the area of the water-surface it increases the power the soil 
has of drawing water to the plant to supply the loss from evaporation 
and to replace that which has been used by the plant. In a heavy clay 
soil this supply of water may be so abundant as to prolong the growth of 
the plant and increase the size and yield per acre, but may greatly retard 
the ripening of the crop and make the texture coarse. 

The average yield of wheat in Washington county is given by the 
census as eighteen bushels per acre, and this is principally from a 
limestone soil having over forty per cent, of clay. Wheat can not be 
economically produced on the light truck lands. It is not that the soils 
of Washington county contain necessarily more plant food than the truck 
lands of southern Maryland, but that having more clay the soils are 
stiffer and are more retentive of moisture, and they can maintain a more 
abundant supply of water for the crop. 

These limestone soils are too retentive of moisture for early truck. 
In an average season they would maintain such an abundant supply of 
water that, although large crops would be assured, the crops would be 
late in coming to maturity, and would come into competition with crops 
from all parts of the State. The light character of the land, therefore, 
gives the early truck planter a monopoly of the market. 

The mechanical analyses of the subsoils from a number of localities 
are given in the accompanying table, with the surface area and the 
approximate number of grains per gram, with such notes as may be 
necessary on the agricultural value of these lands : 



208 



MARYLAND. 



MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF TRUCK SUBSOILS FROM SOUTHERN MARYLAND. 
Marley Neck. 





Conventional Names. 


471. 


472. 


591. 


469. 


473. 


590. 


Diameter. 


Marley 
P. 0. 


Marley 
P. O. 


1 mile 
north of 
Marley 

P. O. 


Glen- 

burnie. 


Albert 
Ham- 
mond. 


2 miles 

north of 

Marley 

P.O. 


mm. 

2-1 




0.28 
5,42 
41.45 
26.73 
12.46 
7.23 
3.21 
4.07 


0.49 
4.96 
40.19 
27.59 
12.10 
7.74 
2.23 
4.40 


0.39 
5.52 
36.53 
24.91 
11.79 
9.89 
4.51 
5.41 


3.47 
12.05 
44.06 
18.02 
9.59 
5.73 
1.37 
5.46 


0.44 
6.46 
36.73 
19.54 
10.28 
13.42 
5.61 
7.14 


0.91 


1 .5 




5.45 


.5-. 25 




28.73 






22.81 






13.44 


.05 .01 


Silt 


14.77 






4.29 




Clay 


9.16 




Total 






99.84 
0.16 


99.70 
0.30 


98.95 
1.05 


99.75 

0.25 


99.62 
0.38 


99.56 






0.44 









471 
472 
591 
4i.9 
473 



Marley P. . 



.do. 



1 mile north of Marley P. O.. 

Glenburnie 

Albert Hammond 

2 miles north of Marley P. O. 



Clay. 



4.07 
4.40 
5.41 
5.46 
7.14 
9.16 



Surface 
area. 



Sq. cm. 

5S3 
615 
796 
654 
987 
1,173 



Approximate 
number 

of grains per 
gram. 



1,809,000,000 
1,955,000,000 
2,458,000,000 
2,406,000,000 
3,315,000,000 
4,078,000,000 



These soils from Marley Neck represent fairly well the early truck 
lands along the bay shore. Those lands having less than 6 per cent, of 
clay, as shown by the table, are considered very typical early truck lands ; 
soils having 6 per cent, of clay are considered rather heavy for the very 
early truck, but are excellent for small fruits. Tomatoes, for example, 
will ripen a week earlier on land having 4 to 5 per cent, of clay than on 
lands having 8 or 9 per cent, of clay. Tomatoes and cabbage do better 
and yield more per acre on the heavier lands ; but they are not so early, 
and consequently do not bring as good prices as the crops from the lighter 
soils. Time is everything to the early truck plants ; and these light lands 
have some peculiar property which adapts them to this early truck and 
matures the crops earlier than on any other soils of the State. The loam 
soils are much better adapted to the small fruits and peaches than the 
very light lands. 

These truck lands appear to be remarkably uniform in texture, and 
the slight differences which appear in the percentage of clay and in the 
approximate number of grains per gram are very sharply defined in the 
agricultural value and importance of the land. The soils having the 
lowest percentage of clay and the least number of grains per gram are, 
with the exception of those directly on the Bay shore at the end of the 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 209 

river necks, invariably regarded as the earliest truck lands, and one can 
readily tell from the general appearance and texture of the soil to what 
class of land the sample belongs. The light soils mature the crop 
earlier, but the heavier loam soils produce a larger yield per acre and 
generally a better development, and would be considered naturally 
stronger soils. 

These soils are too light for the profitable production of the staple 
crops, as the yield per acre would be extremely small and they could not 
compete with the stronger and heavier soils from other parts of the State 
and of the country. Their peculiar value lies in the fact that they can 
produce during the spring and early summer small fruits and vegetables 
earlier than they can be produced in other parts of the State, so that 
they have the advantage of good market prices. The reason of this is 
undoubtedly due to the physical structure of these soils, especially to the 
relation of the soils to water. It cannot be due directly to the amount 
of available plant food they contain, for no addition of mere plant food 
would make these soils as strong and productive as a limestone soil 
unless the whole texture of the land was changed. 

A few years ago these light, sandy lands had hardly any market 
value, as they would not produce any of the staple crops economically. 
Since the introduction of truck farming, however, these have become the 
most valuable lands in the State. Lands situated close to the river or 
along a line of railroad where good transportation facilities are offered 
are worth from $50 to $200 per acre, and even more ; but where these 
transportation facilities are lacking the very finest truck lands are still 
lying idle, and can be purchased for a merely nominal sum of from $1 to 
$5 per acre. As the country is developed and transportation facilities 
are offered, and when methods of packing and transportation are 
improved, these lands will become of great value. 

The Lafayette formation, covering a large area in southern Mary- 
land, forming what are known as the pine barrens, have, as a rule, very 
coarse, sandy soils, containing less than five per cent, of clay in the 
subsoil. These lands are so coarse and open in texture that they have 
little agricultural value under existing conditions. They are, however, 
admirably adapted to very early truck, and when the country is opened 
up and transportation facilities are provided these will be among the 
most valuable lands in the State. Many of these lands also have the 
same texture as the fine, bright tobacco lands of North Carolina, and they 
are adapted to some of the fancy grades of the bright tobacco. 

Of the other soil formations in southern Maryland the Eocene and 
Cretaceous formations have about the same texture and agricultural 
value. They contain from eight to fifteen per cent, of clay in the subsoil 
and are well adapted to fruit, truck and tobacco. There is comparatively 

14 



210 MARYLAND. 

a small area of these formations in this part of the State, and they are, 
therefore, of very little agricultural importance. 

Several lines of railroad are projected through this region, and when 
proper transportation facilities are provided, the whole of southern 
Maryland is admirably adapted to fruit, truck, tobacco and the dairy 
interests, where the lands are sufficiently strong to maintain pastures and 
raise forage for stock. 

The Potomac formation, crossing the State from Washington through 
Baltimore to the Delaware line, is of little present agricultural value. 
The prevailing soils are stiff clays of variegated colors. They contain 
from forty to fifty per cent, of clay and should be very strong and fertile 
lands, as productive as the Trenton limestone soils. As it is, they have 
little agricultural value, and much of the land is lying out as a barren 
waste. The reason for this is probably to be found in the arrangement 
of the grains of sand and clay, as the clays have the effect of being 
puddled and are nearly impervious to water. By proper treatment these 
lands can undoubtedly be improved and be made highly productive. 
The requirements in the improvement of these lands are that they should 
be properly under-drained and then such methods, fertilizers and crops 
be used as would tend to make the soils more loamy so that moisture 
can circulate through them more freely. 

SOILS OF THE EASTERN SHORE. 

The geology of the Eastern Shore has not been worked out in 
sufficient detail to give a basis for these soil investigations. The bound- 
aries of several of the formations have not been determined, and some 
of the formations have not even been identified, so that very little work 
has been done as yet on the soils. 

There are four principal soil formations in this region. The strong 
and fertile wheat and corn lands of Queen Anne and Talbot counties, 
which are probably formed directly of the Chesapeake formation, 
are similar to the strongest wheat lands of southern Maryland, which 
have already been described. These lands have a stiff yellow clay sub- 
soil, with about the same texture as the gabbro, gneiss and phillite lands 
of northern-central Maryland. The lands are very level, but have good 
underdrainage. The fields are large and perfectly level, making the 
cultivation extremely easy. Wheat is grown on the heaviest lands, and 
corn and fruit are grown on the lighter loam soils. There is a prevailing 
impression that grass cannot be grown on these lands, and there is cer- 
tainly very little permanent pasture or sod land. This is probably due 
to the fact that wheat has been raised on these lands continuously. 
Wheat and corn have been the staple crops in the past on these heavy 
lands. There are some pastures, however, which have been unbroken 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 211 

for twenty or thirty years, and they are as strong and as fine now as any of 
the grass lands of northern Maryland could maintain. This shows the 
possibility of these soils, if attention could he generally directed in the 
proper channel. 

The Eocene soils of Kent county have not been studied as yet. 

In Dorchester and the lower counties of the Eastern Shore, the 
wheat lands are of a different character from those in Queen Anne and 
Talbot. The subsoil is a white or grayish clay, and is very close, and 
very retentive of moisture. These lands need underdrainage. They 
should have a very high agricultural value, but, as a matter of fact, they 
are too close and too retentive of moisture for wheat. Before the war, 
when there was an abundance of labor, these lands were kept in admir- 
able condition, and they were exceedingly fertile. There are still some 
farms kept up to the very highest condition of cultivation, and these 
show that the lands, when properly cared for, are admirably adapted to 
wheat and grass. 

It has not been determined whether the white clay, forming the 
subsoil of these wheat lands, belongs to the Chesapeake formation, or, 
as seems rather more probable, to a later formation, probably the 
Lafayette, or possibly a horizon of the Columbia. 

There are large areas of light sandy lands of the Columbia forma- 
tion overlying the stiff clays, varying in depth from a few inches to a 
number of feet. These form the early truck and fruit lands of the 
Eastern Shore. They appear to be identical with the early truck lands 
of the Columbia formation of southern Maryland, which have been 
already described. The areas of this formation have not been outlined. 
These light sandy lands occur in Kent county, cover nearly the whole of 
Caroline county, and there are wide areas in Dorchester, Wicomico, 
Somerset and "Worcester. These lands are admirably adapted to early 
truck and fruit, but, as has been shown, this interest has only existed as 
a separate industry within recent years, and there are large tracts of 
these lands which have not yet been developed, but which are lying out 
as barren wastes. The admirable railroad and water facilities for ship- 
ping truck, however, make it certain that the present rapid development 
of the trucking and fruit interest will continue, and that these lands will 
be taken up in a short time, and applied to the purposes for which they are 
so well adapted. 



212 MARYLAND. 

LIVE STOCK. 

The principal agricultural regions of the State have been already- 
described in some detail, and it remains now only to speak of some 
special features which have a bearing on the breeding and raising of 
live stock. 

Two elements of paramount importance in stock-raising are an 
abundance of food and a plentiful supply of good water. These two 
conditions are found in the northern and western parts of the State, 
where the lands are admirably suited to grass, wheat and corn. The blue 
grass on the limestone soils in several of the counties is particularly 
tender and succulent, and is considered by many to be even more 
nutritious than that of Kentucky. Cecil county is especially noted for 
the excellency of its timothy, and in all these counties mixed hay of a 
good quality is produced, as well as an excellent quality of grain and 
straw and fodder in great abundance. Skim milk can be obtained in the 
neighborhood of the creameries for feeding hogs. 

These lands, which have a rolling surface, are abundantly watered, 
as it is rare to find a field of considerable size which has not a spring 
or a stream of pure water. Such streams, flowing through pastures, add 
greatly to the value of the land for stock-raising. 

The proximity to the ocean and bay makes the climate of the State 
more uniform and exempts it from the extremes of temperature so 
common in the far West, while the hills and mountains mitigate the 
severity of blizzards. 

The southern part of the State is less abundant in pasturage and 
water and is not so well adapted to general stock-raising; though there 
are regions more favored in these respects, and years ago Southei-n 
Maryland was famous for the attention given to breeding fast horses. 
This was especially the case before the late war. There were then no 
railroads and all local traveling was done by riding or driving. Fox 
hunting, races and tournaments were the principal amusements, and the 
young men especially took great pride in their horses. Horse-breeding 
was not then as now pursued as a gainful business, but as a luxury or 
necessity. Under the changed agricultural conditions this interest has 
greatly declined. Nevertheless, more than one owner of valuable stock 
has lately selected these southern counties to establish stables. While 
the country is flat, and hills are rarely seen, it is very well wooded and 
the woods afford protection to the stock in winter ; while, from the 
neighborhood of the bay and ocean, the climate has an almost insular 
mildness. The innumerable estuaries, river-mouths and salt marshes, 
which extend all along the Southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts, are very 
favorable for cattle-ranges, though the lack of pasturage and running 
streams operates as a disadvantage. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 213 

Statistics. The census statistics of cattle, sheep and hogs for 1890 
have not yet been issued; but the following statistics of horses, mules 
and asses are taken from Bulletin No. 103, issued August 19, 1891. These 
statistics are confined to farms of over three acres, thus excluding the 
animals in towns and cities as well as those on smaller holdings : 

On June 1, 1890, there were on these farms 130,395 horses, 14,064 
mules and 97 asses. In 1860 the number of horses was 93,406. The 
decrease in horses on farms from 1860 to 1870 amounted to 3.97 per cent., 
being much less than in many of the other Southern States. From 1870 
to 1880 there was an increase of 31.33 per cent., and from 1880 to 1890 an 
increase of 10.70 per cent. There were 9,829 mules and asses in 1860 and 
about the same number in 1870; and in these there was an increase from 
1870 to 1880 of 27.78 per cent., and from 1880 to 1870 of 12.74 per cent. 
There were foaled in 1889 11,855 horses, 209 mules and 32 asses, and in 
the same year 7,296 horses, 831 mules and 26 asses were sold and 6,088 
horses, mules and asses died. 

Breeds of Horses. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that 
greater progress has been made during the past fifteen years in the 
improvement of horses, and in the past twenty or twenty-five years in 
the improvement of all kinds of stock, than had been made in the 
previous century. Nevertheless, impartial judges see that with this 
great improvement in recent years there have been some heavy losses 
which are to be deplored. With horses, speed has been the great end and 
object of improved breeding. A horse that can make a mile, or even 
a half or a quarter of a mile dash in the shortest time wins the premium 
and the applause of the multitude. The constitution and the endurance 
of the animals are altogether secondary considerations, and these most 
valuable qualities have been greatly impaired in the development of the 
modern race-horses. With cows, likewise, the improvement has been, 
until recently, in the line of great yields of butter for relatively short 
periods with high feeding. This reached its height in the recent Jersey 
craze, when these animals brought immense prices, but were so delicate 
and sensitive that they had to be tended as carefully as one would care 
for a child. When the fancy for Jersey cattle declined many breeders 
were financially crippled, but it has had good results for the live stock 
interest, as this has taken a healthier turn now, and constitution, 
endurance and general utility are more carefully considered. With cattle 
the tide is already turning toward the development of the most generally 
useful and valuable qualities. With horses the tide has hardly yet 
turned, and speed is still bred for with very little regard to constitution 
or endurance. 

Maryland was famous for its horses in colonial days, and, indeed, until 
about fifty years ago. This was due to the social life of the times, espec- 



214 MARYLAND. 

ially in southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore, where slavery pre 
vailed, and where the people were dependent for their exercise, pleasure 
and social intercourse upon their horses. Besides this, liberal premiums 
were offered by our people from pure love of the animal and the interest 
in its development. With the changed conditions of agriculture, how- 
ever, this interest declined, and when the scientific improvement of live 
stock was introduced fifteen or twenty years ago the high quality of 
animals once found here was almost a thing of the past. It is a history 
common to all the Southern States where the peculiar conditions incident 
to slavery prevailed ; and nearly all the older States which have felt the 
recent changes in agricultural conditions have experienced this period of 
depression, to which they are only now adjusting themselves. It is true 
that the live stock interest is in a healthier state, and very marked 
improvements Lave been made in recent years as a direct result of the 
depression fifteen or twenty years ago. 

Thoroughbreds {Running Horses). The breeding of thoroughbreds 
in the State has, with a few exceptions, been spasmodic and without any 
particularly good results. This failure has been justly attributed to the 
lack of scientific methods with the breeders themselves. The excellent 
results which a few breeders are attaining illustrate the value of the most 
advanced methods. One establishment in this State for the breeding, 
rearing and training of thoroughbreds was started only a few years ago, 
but has already attracted the attention of the racing fraternity, at least, 
throughout the Eastern States. The stock at this farm ranks with the 
very best in the country, and the successes attained from early develop- 
ment have not been excelled even by California, which has so long 
boasted of its early developments. The horses on this farm are valued 
at nearly a quarter of a million of dollars ; the purses won in a single 
season have exceeeded $100,000. The expenses incident to the breeding 
and training on such a large scale are very great, but the profits accruing 
have made the enterprise very remunerative. 

Standardbred or Light Harness Horses. It is in this class that the 
greatest improvements have been attained. Indeed, more horses of this 
class can be found to-day on the road than were to be found ten years 
ago in the training stables. This industry of the breeding of trotters 
and pacers has been remarkable in its recent development, and it is not 
confined to any part of the State. A single county now produces more 
standardbred horses than were produced in the whole State a few years 
ago, and there are only a few counties in the State where the breeding 
of this class of horses is not established as a business. So general and 
widespread has the industry become that a breeders' association was 
established about three years ago, and this association is able to give 
from their own stables a race meeting each fall, lasting several days. 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 215 

Many of the larger stock farms have private tracks where the animals are 
trained. The market for these horses has extended into all parts of the 
United States, and the growing demand for fast light-harness horses 
abroad has been the means of extending the market to foreign countries. 

Stallions of unblemished ancestry are to be found in abundance in 
the State, and even if they are not bred to rnares of equally high 
pedigree, yet good results are obtained in the general improvement of 
the progeny; and the importation of broodmares of good breeds is tend- 
ing further to raise the quality of this class of horses. 

Coach Horses. Unfortunately very little attention has so far been 
paid to the breeding of this very useful and profitable class. The stal- 
lions of this class now in the State are of the "French Coach" and 
"Cleveland Bay" variety. One or two good stallions have recently been 
imported into the State, and good results are expected within the next 
few years. The appreciation and demand for this breed is increasing 
every year. 

Draught Horses. Much more attention has been paid to this class 
of horses, largely through the influence of a public-spirited citizen of 
Baltimore, whose i inportations of Percherons of fine quality have led to 
a more thorough appreciation of this class. A number of Clyde stallions 
have also been imported, and these have given a good class, though a 
limited number, of grade animals. 

General Utility Horses. The main dependence of an agricultural 
region is the general utility horse, which can be used for al 1 kinds of 
work. It seems rather strange that with the natural advantages of the 
State, our farmers have been slow in giving proper attention to this class 
of animals. The mare that works in thj plow all the week and pulls 
the family to church on Sunday is bred to this or that horse either 
because the fee is small or because he had once trotted a fast mile. The 
results of such breeding are far from satisfactory. This is beginning to 
receive the attention it deserves, and certainly there is no more impor- 
tant subject for the farmer to consider. 

While there may be some grounds for pride in the fact that the 
trotter has been developed in this country to a degree of speed never 
dreamed of a few years ago, we must not forget that he is scarcely more 
of what may be termed a general utility horse than is a thoroughbred. 
The trotter is bred for speed, and to such a degree has this specialization 
been carried, that unfortunately the qualities of endurance, conforma- 
tion and action have been neglected and impared to a very great extent. 
Even our farmers have been imbued with this craze for speed. As a rule, 
and under the average conditions of farm life, there is no more chance 
of obtaining a great winner than there is of drawing a capital prize in a 
lottery. Our farmers are now beginning to perceive this, and that for 



216 MARYLAND. 

sure and substantial profits in breeding, the animals must have bone, 
muscle, power and constitution, combined with a moderate amount of 
speed, and with sufficient nervous energy to enable them to stand long 
trips with some weight behind them. 

The Hackney horse seems to fill this want very well, and there is 
cause of congratulation that a worthy son of the great Confidence 
lias been added to the list of breeding stallions in the State. It is to be 
hoped that more of this class of horses may be introduced into the State, 
for it is believed that by judicious crossing of trotting and thoroughbred 
mares, a good class of light and heavy-harness roadsters may be obtained. 

Mules. Although there is a steady and a growing demand for these 
valuable animals, at good prices, they are rarely foaled in this State, but 
are usually brought from the West. The reason for this is on account of 
the scarcity and high price of jacks, a good Spanish jack being worth 
from $1,500 to $3,000. 

Cattle. Fifteen years ago some of the finest herds of Jersey cattle 
in the country were owned in Maryland, and about that time there was 
an exhibit of Jersey cattle at the State Fair, which was probably as fine 
as could have been found elsewhere in the country. The craze for 
Jerseys, born of the fictitious values, broke suddenly, and many breeders 
lost heavily. The herds were broken up, and have been scattered through 
the State and elsewhere. This has been followed by a much healthier 
condition, and a system of grading has resulted from this decline in 
value of the thoroughbred Jerseys, much to the advantage of the State at 
large. The breeders now consider the endurance and constitution of the 
animals, rather than their performances under artificial conditions for 
limited and very short periods of time. 

The introduction of the Holstein-Friesian cattle was made upon this 
more stable basis, and a large number of these cattle are found in 
different parts of the State and they are looked upon with great and 
increasing favor. A few herds of thoroughbred Herefords are owned in 
Baltimore county and on the Eastern Shore. In the western part of the 
State some Durhams of excellent quality are bred. It was considered, 
by many experts, that, at one time, the finest herd of Durham cattle in 
the world was owned in Maryland, but the death of the owner caused the 
herd to be broken up, and the good effects of the sale are apparent in the 
improved breeding of the stock in that section of the State. Short-Horns 
are still bred in the western counties, mainly because oxen are used for 
hauling, and because large animals are desired for beef. 

Sheep. The sheep interest has always been in a very healthy condi- 
tion in this State. Probably a majority of the farms support flocks of 
sheep, and the interest is growing. The Southdowns have been a favorite 



AGRICULTURE AND LIVE STOCK. 217 

breed, and the fine flock at Druid Hill Park, in Baltimore, has done much 
to awaken an interest in the improved breeds. 

Sheep require very little care, and have to be housed and fed, at 
most, not over two months in the year ; the remainder of the time they 
run at large in the pasture fields and in the corn and stubble fields, after 
the crops are removed. They yield a handsome return for the small 
amount of care and expense they are to the farmer. 

Hogs. Previous to 1875 the Chester-White, crossed with the White- 
China, was the favorite breed of hogs; but about that time the scientific 
breeding of Berkshires was begun, and this is undoubtedly at present the 
favorite breed of hogs. For years Maryland possessed what was prob- 
ably the finest herd of Berkshires in the United States or England. The 
herd still contains its finest blood, although it is considerably reduced in 
numbers. There are a number of herds of this breed in the State, many 
of them of the finest blood, as also a few herds of Poland-China, Small- 
Yorkshires, and some Jersey-Beds. 



CHAPTER VI. 



NATURAL HISTORY. K 



THE FLORA OF MARYLAND. 

Any attempt to give an account of the flora of Maryland must of 
necessity prove unsatisfactory. No botanical survey of the area included 
within her limits has ever been made, and in the absence of the 
information which such a survey would afford, much that would be of 
great interest and utility must be omitted and general statements must 
take the place of exact details. It is not probable that many plants new 
to botany would be brought to light, since there are no such sharp botanical 
lines between neighboring States as would lead us to expect plants in one 
not found in others close at hand; but many plants known elsewhere, 
but not previously reported in Maryland, would doubtless be found, and 
the distribution of the different genera and species would be ascertained, 
together with their relations to soil and climate. Not only has there 
been no general survey, but little has been published of the work done 
by individuals. Dr. William E. A. Aikin prepared a catalogue of the 
" Phsenogamous Plants and Ferns " growing in the vicinity of Baltimore, 
which was published in the Transactions of the Maryland Academy of 
Science and Literature in 1837, but has long been out of print. Mr. 
Howard Shriver published a list of plants collected near Cumberland, 
and the present writer published, in 1888, a preliminary check list for 
the vicinity of Baltimore, in which the work of Dr. Aikin was freely used. 

BOTANICAL EEGIONS. 

The State of Maryland has three distinct geological regions which 
will serve also as the botanical divisions : the Coastal Plain, the Piedmont 
Plateau and the Appalachian Mountains. A somewhat irregular line 
from Havre de Grace through Baltimore to Washington divides the ten 
thousand square miles of land area into two nearly equal portions. 
The Coastal Plain lying to the east of this line is characterized by a 
comparatively level surface of little elevation, the fresh water streams 
having a more or less sluggish current and a tendency to spread out into 
marshes. It is divided into two portions by the Chesapeake bay, and 
each portion is much sub-divided by rivers or rather arms of the bay, up 
which tides advance. Many plants find here alone the conditions 



. NATURAL HISTORY. 219 

necessary to their existence. Shore plants, plants growing in deep water, 
salt marsh plants, and plants requiring wet sandy soil, may be mentioned 
as peculiar to this region. The Piedmont Plateau extends from the 
Coastal Plain to the base of the Catoctin Mountains, and has an elevation 
of from two to nine hundred feet above sea level. The surface is 
rolling or hilly, and the streams have generally a more rapid current. 
This section is less peculiar in its vegetation. Rich woods and meadows 
covered with a rank herbaceous growth are characteristic. The western 
portion of the State consists of mountains and intervening valleys. The 
streams to the east of Little Savage Mountain flow into the Potomac, 
while those to the west seek the waters of the Ohio. The plants peculiar 
to this region are principally such as find their way thus far south only 
along the mountains ; though many plants found sparsely in the Piedmont 
Region are here much more numerous and grow more luxuriantly, giving 
the general aspect of vegetation a character of its own. A striking 
feature of this part of the State are the Glades, upland meadows, 
believed to be the basins of former shallow mountain lakes. The State 
Geologist in 1841 thus describes them : " These are natural meadows of 
variable extent, with a deep mould for soil, apparently in its origin 
produced by the decomposition of a red, shaly sandstone, to which time 
has added a rich accumulation of decayed and decaying vegetable matter. 
This soil throws up a spontaneous growth of succulent grasses and plants 
-that afford the finest and most abundant pasturage for cattle during a 
long portion of the year, and in the months of June and July present to 
the eye of a traveler who crosses them a delightful parterre composed of 
flowers of all hues, over which the botanist would be rejoiced to roam 
among old and, perhaps, new acquaintances. The whole extent of these 
glades within the limits of Allegany county may be estimated at about 
twelve thousand acres, the greatest portion of which, east of the 
Yohogany, is located towards the summit of the dividing mountains. 
They are not connected with each other, and their outlines are very 
irregular, spurs and ridges intersecting them and knolls sometimes rising 
up from amidst them." 

This great variety in land surface has given rise to a great vax-iety in 
vegetation. Some plants are to be found only on certain rock formations 
to which they have become specially adapted. An example of this is 
found in Talinum teretifolium, Pursh. This plant grows on almost 
naked serpentine rocks, which become at times extremely dry. Its 
cylindrical leaves enable it to store up water as a supply in time of 
need, and it continues blossoming and ripening its seed during the 
severest drought. Several specimens were placed in a tin pan, without 
earth and unwaterecl, to experiment upon its endurance in this respect. 
They continued to bloom from day to day for the space of two weeks, 
when the experiment was interrupted. 



220 MARYLAND. 



The mean temperature of Baltimore for the past twenty-one years 
was 55.3°, the extreme range during that period being from — 6° on January 
1, 1881, to 102° on July 18, 1887. The winters differ much in severity, 
giving rise to a longer or shorter flowering season. December, January 
and February are generally without flowers, except witch-hazel, which 
blooms in December, and winter is occasionally prolonged to the end of 
March. The mildest winter of which there is any exact record was that 
of 1889-90. The mean temperatures for five months were : November, 
48°; December, 46°; January, 44°; February, 43|°; March, 42°. The 
ranges for the same months were : November, 70° to 28° ; December, 
73° to 23° ; January, 73° to 20° ; February, 74° to 23° ; March, 77° to 12°. 
In this extraordinary season fall ended, as regards flowers, about the first 
week of January, while spring began the last week of December, the 
seasons completely overlapping. Twenty-six species were found blooming 
between December 25 and February 16, viz : 

I. Summer or fall plants in bloom much later than usual : 

Aster prenanthoides, Muhl. Dec. 25, Jan. 3. 
Lepidium Virginicum, L. (Peppergrass). Dec. 25. 
Achillea Millefolium, L. (Yarrow). Jan. 3. 
Chrysanthemum Leucauthemum, L. (Ox-eye Daisy). Dec. 25, 
Jan. 3. 

II. Spring plants in bloom much earlier than usual : 

Hepatica triloba, Chaix. Dec. 25, Jan. 5, Feb. 16. 

Cerastium vulgatum, L. (Mouse-ear Chickweed). Dec. 25, 
Feb. 16. 

Symplocarpus foetidus, Salisb. (Skunk Cabbage). Dec. 25. 

Corylus Americana, Walt. (Wild Hazel-nut). Jan. 3, Feb. 16. 

Antennaria plantaginifolia, Hook. (Plaintain leaved everlast- 
ing). Jan. 3, Feb. 16. 

Acer dasycarpum, Ehrh. (White Maple). Jan. 4. 

Viola palmata, L. var. cucullata, Gray. (Common Blue Violets). 
Jan. 4. 

Nasturtium officinale, R. Br. (Water-cress). Jan. 4. 

Houstonia cferulea, L. (Bluets). Jan. 4, Feb. 16. 

Alnus serrulata, Willd. (Alder). Jan. 5, Feb. 16. 

Acer rubrum, L. (Red Maple). Feb. 16. 

Ulmus Americana, L. (American Elm). Feb. 16. 

Luzula campestre, DC. (Wood Rush). Feb. 16. 

Salix Babylonica, Tourn. (Weeping Willow). Feb. 16. 

Poa flexuosa, Muhl. (Spear Grass). Feb. 16. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 221 

III. Plants blooming usually in spring, summer and fall : 

Stellaria media, Smith. (Common Chickweed). All dates. 

Poa annua, L. (Low Spear-grass). All dates. 

Capsella Bursa-pastoris, Moench. (Shepherd's Purse). All 

dates. 
Malva rotundifolia, L. (Common Mallow). Dec. 25, Jan. 5. 
Taraxacum officinale, Weber. (Dandelion). Dec. 25, Jan. 5. 
Draba verna, L. (Whitlow Grass). All dates. 
Lamium amplexicaule, L. Jan. 4. 
The seven last mentioned are hardy, naturalized plants from Europe, 
and two of them, Stellaria media and Draba verna, may often be found 
in bloom after a few warm days during the winter months. 

The rose, Pyrus Japonica and English daisy were blooming in parks 
and gardens in the last week of December. The peach trees bloomed in 
February, and suffered severely from the cold weather of March. On 
the whole, the season was very unfavorable for fruit. 

FORESTS AND FOREST TREES. 

The first settlers of Maryland found a land having a great abundance 
of grass on the plains and in the open fields, but for the most part thickly 
wooded. "Fine groves of trees appear," says Father White, "not choked 
with briers or bushes and undergrowth, but growing at intervals as if 
planted by the hand of man, so that you can drive a four-horse carriage 
wherever you choose through the midst of the trees." The many hicko- 
ries, the oaks, "so straight and tall that beams sixty feet long and two 
and a half feet wide can be made of them," the cypress trees growing to 
a height of eighty feet before they have any branches, and with trunks 
that three men with arms extended could barely reach round, excited the 
wonder of the colonists. As late as 1841, Prof. J. T. Ducatel, State Geol- 
ogist, describes the aspect of the country from the mountain tops in 
Allegany, then the westernmost county of the State, as " at first grand 
and imposing, but the eye is soon gratified, as it rests upon apparently 
interminable forest." "The crests and flanks of the mountains are 
covered principally with pines and chestnuts. The yellow and spruce 
pines are most abundant of that species of timber in this section of the 
county; the white pine occurring only in few places. On the bottom 
lands are found nearly all the most valuable forest trees ; oaks, walnut, 
poplar, locust, hickory, the Magnolia acuminata, or cucumber tree as it is 
here called, and the maples, among which is the sugar maples, which 
beautifully overshadows extensive camps, whence the smaller farmers of 
the county, and indeed most of the inhabitants, are supplied with sugar. 
The lime tree (Tilia glabra), here called linn, is also conspicuous amidst 
the larger trees of these forests. Among the flowering shubbery are 



222 MARYLAND. 

particularly noticed the mountain laurel (Rhododendron maximum), 
calico bush (Kalmia latifolia) and the wild honeysuckle (Azalea viscosa) 
of large size, bearing a cluster of white flowers that emit a delicious 
fragrance." 

The agricultural development of the land, and the demands of com- 
merce, have affected the flora to a very great extent, but Maryland may 
still be considered as well wooded. Trees deserve especial attention, 
not only because they are most conspicuous, among the most beautiful, 
and the most useful of vegetable growths, but because of their great 
importance in distributing the rainfall and in modifying the climate. 
While on the one hand the healthfulness of a country in our latitude 
may be increased by clearing away part of the originally almost unbroken 
forest, on the other hand, destructive torrents, and equally destructive 
droughts are the consequences of too great denudation of trees. 

Maryland, it is believed, is still in most parts, on the safe side, and, 
if proper attention be paid to the preservation of forests in those regions 
which are not adapted to agriculture, this will continue to be the case. 
The continually increasing demand for wood, and the destructive manner 
of obtaining what is merchantable, so generally employed, as well as the 
ravages of fires, due to accident or carelessness, render it advisable to take 
precautionary measures. This may the more easily be done, since forest 
culture, or forest preservation, in the many hilly or mountainous regions 
which can be turned to no other use, would be sure to pay handsomely 
in time, owing to the increased price which forest products are certain 
to bring in the future. The natural forests of the country cannot long 
withstand the destruction now going on, and the application of scientific 
principles to forest growing in this State, would not only render much 
otherwise useless land wealth-producing itself, but would be a means of 
preserving the agricultural lands against the evils resulting from a 
deficiency of trees. 

In number of species, and probably in number of individuals, the 
oaks rank first among our native trees. The white oak (Quercus alba, L.), 
post oak (Q. stellata, Wang.) and swamp white oak (Q. bicolor, Willd.), 
resemble each other in general appearance, and in their hard and durable 
wood, which is used in making agricultural implements and carriages, 
for railroad ties and fence posts. 

The laurel oak (Q. imbricaria, Michx.) is used for shingles ; the pin 
oak (Q. palustris, Du Roi) for planks ; the bark of Spanish oak (Q. falcata, 
Michx.), of chestnut oak (Q. Prinus, L.) and of black oak (Q. coccinea, 
Wang., var. tinctoria) is used in tanning; the wood of black oak is used 
by coopers and carriage-makers ; all the above, together with water oak 
(Q. aquatica, Walter), black jack (Q,. nigra, L.), willow oak (Q. Phellos, L.) 
and black scrub oak (Q,. ilicifolia, Wang.) make good fuel. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 223 

Of four or five species of hickory, the shag-bark (Carya alba, Nutt.) 
furnishes the most valuable wood, tough, elastic and durable. Pines fit 
for lumber have become scarce, but specimens of white (Pinus Strobus, L.) 
and yellow pine (P. mitis, Michx.) may still be found. Pitch pine (P. 
rigida, Mill.) and Jersey scrub pine (Pinops, Ait.) are plentiful, but valuable 
only as fuel. 

From the wood of the cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata, L.) pumps 
and bowls are made; the yellow poplar (Liriodendron Tulipifera, L.), a 
local name brought down from early colonial days for the tree elsewhere 
known as tulip tree, white (Acer dasycarpum, Ehrh.), red (A. rubrum, L.), 
and sugar maple (A. saccharinum, Wang.) common locust (Rob inia Pseuda- 
cacia, L.), chestnut (Castanea sativa, Mill., var Americana), beech (Fagus 
ferruginea, Ait.), white ash (Fraxinus A mericana, L.), white ( Juglans cinerea, 
L.) and black walnut (J. nigra, L.) and wild cherry (Prunus serotina, Ehrh.) 
furnish valuable woods for finishing the interiors of houses, for making 
furniture and for cabinet work. From dogwood (Cornus florida, L.) 
handles of tools; from sour gum (Nyssa sylvatica, Marsh.) and American 
elm (Ulmus Americana, L.) hubs of wheels; from sycamore (Platanus 
occidentalis, L.) meat-blocks, and from hop-hornbeam (Ostrya Virginica, 
Willd.) mallets and mauls are made. Red cedar (Juniperus Virginiana, 
L.) is used to make moth-proof chests and for fine posts. 

The native fruits growing on trees are not very numerous, yet some 
of them do not seem to have received the attention from pomologists 
which they deserve. The European settlers finding the fruits of their 
old homes to thrive in their new abode did not deem it necessary to 
develop and improve the wild fruits about them. The persimmon 
attracted the attention of Captain John Smith, who speaks of three sorts 
of plums, the red and the white, like English hedge plums, " but the 
other, which they call Putchamins, grow as high as a Palmata. The 
fruit is like a medlar; it is first green, then yellow, and red when it is 
ripe. If it be not ripe it will draw a man's mouth awrie with much 
torment, but when it is ripe it is as delicious as an Apricock." The 
persimmon growing wild is subject to much variation in the size and 
quality of its fruit. A judicious selection and cultivation of one of the 
almost seedless varieties often found in a state of nature would doubtless 
repay the care bestowed upon it. The serviceberry (Amelanchior 
Canadensis, T. and G.) is another fruit that is worthy of cultivation. 
The Chicasa plum has been improved and is sometimes cultivated. 
Elderberries are used in making wine, and in some places the dried 
berries are made into pies. The sugar maple is extensively used in 
making maple sugar. The wild nuts most prized are black walnuts, 
chestnuts, chinquapins, hickory nuts (the shellbark being the best) and 



224 MARYLAND. 

wild hazelnuts. The white walnut is little used in Maryland, except for 
pickling, the black being considered much superior. 

To the massing of trees in forests the landscape owes much of its 
attractiveness, and there are few more beautiful objects in animated 
nature than an individual tree which a favorable environment has 
allowed to attain its perfect development and symmetry. Each species 
has its own particular form and its own peculiar beauty, no less, though 
different, in our temperate zone than in the tropics, and only less noticed 
because more familiar. Humboldt considers it an undertaking worthy 
of a great artist to study the character of the different vegetable groups 
" on the grand theatre of tropical nature." The delicate shades of our 
early spring, the deeper hues of summer, the gorgeous tints of autumn, 
and the sober colors of bare trunks and limbs of winter offer a no less 
attractive variety to the painter or the lover of beauty. The red maple, 
the dogwood and the red-bud give to the forests of early spring a 
contrast of colors, which adds much to its charms. 



Intimately associated with trees are the larger climbers, which 
depend upon them for support. The most important of these are four 
species of grape : Vitis Labrusca, L., V. rotundifolia, Michx., the northern 
and the southern fox-grape, V. asstivalis, Michx. and V. cordifolia Michx., 
both locally known as chicken-grapes. Both the northern and southern 
fox-grape have been cultivated ; the former has given rise to the Isabella, 
the Catawba and the Concord, while the latter is the origin of the 
Scuppernong grape. The climbing bittersweet (Celastrus scandens, L.) 
Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia, Michx.), often confounded 
with poison-oak (Rhus Toxicodendron, L.), and trumpet creeper (Tecoma 
radicans, Juss.) should be mentioned for their beauty, and poison-oak 
should be known to be avoided. It may be easily distinguished from the 
beautiful and harmless Virginia creeper by its three leaflets. Its near 
relative, the poison sumach, (Rhus venenata, DC), a swamp shrub from 
six to eighteen feet in height, enjoys with it the odious distinction of 
being the only plants growing in Maryland which are poisonous to the 
touch. Among the lesser climbers are : Virgin's bower (Clematis Vir- 
giniana, L.), moonseed (Menispermum Canadense, L.), climbing hempweed 
(Mikania scandens, L.), several species of morning-glory, and wild yam 
(Dioscorea villosa, L.). The greenbrier, of which there are three species 
common, renders in many places the shrubbery along streams difficult of 
passage. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 225 

NATIVE SMALL FRUITS. 

The wild strawberry, blackberry, dewberry and raspberry are every- 
where plentiful. Three species of huckleberry, as many of blueberry 
and one of cranberry are found. The fruits are extensively used in the 
country districts, and dewberries, blackberries and huckleberries (by 
which name blueberries also are commonly known) are sent in consid- 
erable quantities to the Baltimore markets. They are for the most part 
free to any person who will take the trouble to gather them, and afford a 
welcome addition to the table, or to the income, of many persons 
throughout the State. 



When the forests are cleared away for the purposes of agriculture, 
new conditions are created and new plants make their appearance. Not 
only are the trees destroyed, but the plants that found a congenial home 
in their shade, perish, and others spring up which had previously kept 
aloof because of their love of sunshine. If a dozen square yards be 
cleared in the midst of a forest the flora of this small surface will 
quickly change. Even the fall of a tree will change the vegetation of 
the space opened lo the sunlight. The plants that avail themselves first 
of the new condition differ according to soil and situation. In the 
western part of the State the great willow herb (Epilobium angustifolium, 
L.) is one of the first comers ; in the rich woodlands of the Piedmont 
Region fireweed (Erechthites hieracifolia, Ret.) and wild lettuce (Lactuca 
Canadensis, L.) are characteristic. In the sandy portion of the Coastal 
Plain the trees are often succeeded, if the clearing be not promptly 
cultivated, by chinquapin bushes or dwarf oak. After a few years of 
careful cultivation these first weeds retire to the borders of the forest, 
the fence corners and other uncultivated spots. These are for the most 
part native plants, and are not generally the most troublesome weeds. 
The farmer's greatest difficulty is with weeds of foreign extraction, which 
have been intentionally or unintentionally brought into the country by 
the white man. Many of these are dependent upon man both for their 
dispersion and for the conditions necessary to their growth. They infest 
the yard, the garden, the grainfield, the meadow and the pasture, but do 
not spread generally in uncultivated regions. Some are brought into the 
country mingled with the seed of useful plants, others among the ballast 
of vessels. Over fifty species of foreign plants may be found growing 
upon the ballast heaps at Canton, some of which will doubtless spread to 
the neighboring fields and become established. During the colonial 
period, when foreign vessels unloaded in every navigable river and creek, 
many more centres of dispersion existed than at present, and hence the 
numerous " advents from Europe " which have become naturalized. 

15 



226 MARYLAND. 

Among the most troublesome foreigners in fields are Viper's bugloss 
(Echium vulgare, L.), Canada thistle (Cnicus arvensis, Hoffm.), ox-eye 
daisy (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum, L.), wild carrot (Daucus carota, L.), 
lamb's quarter (Chenopodium album, L.), and bitter dock (Rumex 
obtusifolium, L.), from Europe. Among yard and garden pests may be 
mentioned common mallow (Malva rotundifolia, L.), curled dock (Rumex 
crispus, L.), common plantain (Plantago major, L.), ribgrass (Plantago 
lanceolata, L.), common purslane (Portulaca oleracea, L.) and burdock 
(Arctium lappa, L.), from Europe, pigweed (Amarantus retroflexus, L.) and 
Sida spinosa, L., from the tropics, and velvet-leaf (Abutilon Avicennse 
Gaertn.), from India. Corn cockle (Lychnis Githago, Lam.), is a native of 
Europe, and is especially troublesome in wheat fields, because it ripens 
its seeds at harvest time. The seeds are too near the grain in weight to 
be separated by fanning, and are therefore likely to be replanted with 
wheat in the fall. 

Among troublesome native weeds are ragweed and great ragweed 
(Ambrosia artemisisefolia, L. and A. trifida, L.), the latter very rank in 
rich river bottoms, several species of Erigeron known as horseweed, 
daisy fleabane, etc., Aster ericoides, L., beggai"-ticks (Bidens frondosa, L.), 
and Spanish needles (Bidens bipinnata, L.), the last two especially in 
corn fields. 

THE LARGER ORDERS. 

The Composite family (Compositse), is more largely represented in 
genera and species than any other, and probably also in individuals. In 
autumn especially they predominate, and Asters, Solidagos, Eupatoriums 
of many species, with many other genera, everywhere abound. The 
grasses (Gramineae), are not far behind Compositse in species, but they 
do not occupy so conspicuous a place in the landscape except when in 
cultivation. The sedges (Cyperaceae) come next, owing to the numerous 
species of Carex. This genus has a far greater number of species than 
any other growing in Maryland. It alone comprises two-thirds of the 
species of Cyperacese. The Pulse (Leguminosae), the Rose (Rosaceae) and 
mint (Labiatae), families are far more numerous in species than any except 
the three orders already mentioned. The Heath (Ericaceae), the Figwort 
(Scrophulariaceae), the Mustard (Crucif erae), the Fern (Filices), the Parsley 
(Umbelliferae), the Oak (Cupuliferae), the Orchis (Orchidaceae), the Lily 
(Liliaceae), the Crowfoot (Ranunculaceae), the Pink (Caryophyllaceae) and 
the Buckwheat (Polygonaceae) families rank next in this respect. 

SPECIALLY ATTRACTIVE FLOWERS OF SPRING, SUMMER AND AUTUMN. 

In the early spring the most beautiful flowers are found quite near 
the ground, which, in favored spots, they fairly carpet. Trailing arbutus 



NATURAL HISTORY. 227 

(Epigea repens, L.); hepatica (Hepatica triloba, Chaix); spring beauty 
(Claytonia Virginica, L.) ; bluets (Houstonia cserulea, L.) ; violets of a dozen 
species, blue, white and yellow, obolaria (Obolaria Virginica, L.); dog- 
toothed violets (Erythroniutn Americanuna, Ker.) ; wild ginger (Asarum 
Canadense, L.) ; dentarias (Dentaria heterophylla, Nutt. and D. laciniata, 
Muhl.); rue anemone (Anenionella thalictroides, Spach.); bishop's cap 
(Mitella diphylla, L.) ; Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra Cucullaria, DC), a 
name which one feels ashamed to apply to this most delicate and beautiful 
little flower ; wind flower (Anemone nemorosa, L.), and wild pink (Silene 
Pennsylvania, Michx.), are all low-growing plants flowering in early 
spring. Mertensia (Mertensia Virginica, D C.) ; wild columbine (Aquilegia 
Canadensis, L.j ; wild cranesbill (Geranium maculatum, L.) ; azalea, or wild 
honeysuckle (Rhododendron nudiflorum, Torr.), as it is sometimes called ; 
polemonium (P. reptans, L.) ; Indian cucumber root (Medeola Virginiana, 
L.), and spiderwort (Tradescantia Virginica, L.), bring us to the end of 
spring. 

Among summer flowers worthy of special mention, are the fringe- 
tree (Chionanthus Virginica, L.) ; swamp honeysuckle (Rhododendron 
viscosum, Torr.) ; staggerbush (Andromeda Mariana, L.) ; goat's rue 
(Tephrosia Virginiana, Pers.) ; wild roses, pyrolas and chimaphilas, part- 
ridge-berry (Mitchella repens, L.), growing in such profusion in some 
places as to cover the ground and to scent the air, for some distance ; 
nine-bark (Physocarpus opulif olius, Maxim.); goat's beard (Spirsea Aruncus, 
L.), numerous species of Desmodium and Lespedeza, the most plentiful 
wood flowers in midsummer ; the American laurel (Kalmia angustifolia, 
L.), forming thickets on hillsides and densely covered with blossoms ; 
meadow beauty (Rhexia Virginica and R. Mariana, L.); great laurel 
(Rhododendron maximum, L.), most beautiful of mountain flowers ; 
kosteletzkya (K. Virginica, Gray); sabbatias (S. angularis, S. stellaris and 
S. chloroides, Pursh) ; sweet-pepper bush (Clethra alnifolia, L.) ; magnolia 
(M. glauca, L.); monarda (ML didyma, L.), etc. 

The autumn flora is largely composed of Compositae, but the 
gerardias, gentians and lobelias will also attract attention. The fringed 
gentian (Gentiana crinita, Froel.), is probably the most beautiful of fall 
flowers. The golden-rods (Solidago), take the lead among the Compositae. 
The dogwood, the holly (Ilex opaca, Ait. and I. verticillata, Gray), and 
other trees or shrubs are covered with red berries, which are attractive 
to the eye of man and to the palate of many birds. 

PLANTS OP PECULIAR HABITS. 

Three genera are found within our own limits which have the most 
peculiar of habits, that of capturing insects. Two of these, sundew 
(Drosera) and bladderwort (Utricularia) feed upon the prey captured. 



228 MARYLAND. 

This is probably the case with the pitcher-plant also, but the fact has 
not been so clearly demonstrated. Sarracenia (pitcher-plant) and Drosera 
grow upon the borders of marshes. Utricularia is a water or marsh 
plant. Sarracenia captures its prey in the so-called pitchers, which are 
constantly kept half full of water, into which insects fall and being 
unable to escape perish. The pitchers appear to be formed by a union 
of the outer maigins of the leaves, but upon closer examination they are 
found to be specially modified petioles. A rosette of such leaves 
surrounds each flower-stalk at its base. The flower-stalk of sundew is 
provided with a circle of leaves around the margins of which are rows 
of tentacles. At the extremity of each tentacle is a small drop of a 
mucilaginous substance, which has somewhat the appearance of a drop 
of honey and glistens in the sun like dew. Upon the approach of a 
small insect so as to touch one of these tentacles it is held by the sticky 
substance, and the remaining tentacles are one after the other bent over 
and fasten it more securely. Finally the leaf folds over it transversely 
and remains in this position until all the substance of the insect that is 
required by the plant is absorbed, when leaf and tentacles resume their 
normal position. 

Bladderworts, at least those that are insectivorous, float in the water 
and are provided with bladders on the dissected leaves. The bladders 
are constructed on the principles of an eel-pot, easy to enter and almost 
impossible of egress. In these bladders small aquatic creatures are 
captured in large numbers and afford nourishment to the plant. 

Eel grass or wild celery (Vallisneria spiralis) is a plant which grows 
in several feet of water in the tide regions. It is fastened by its roots at 
the bottom of the water, and the sterile flowers are borne on short stalks 
which remain submerged. The fertile flowers are borne on long stalks 
spirally coiled, so that they may be lengthened or shortened by loosening 
or tightening the coil. At the time of blooming the sterile flowers break 
from their stalks, float to the surface and shed their pollen upon the 
water, which brings it into contact with the pistils of the fertile flowers, 
whose stalks are lengthened so that they are always kept at the surface 
by the loosening or tightening of the coll as the tide rises or falls. 
When fertilization has been secured, the coil tightens permanently and 
the seeds are ripened under water. The root of this plant is the favorite 
food of the canvas-back and is said to give its flesh the delicate flavor 
for which this duck is so highly prized in this region. 

Utricularia inflata, one of the bladderworts above mentioned, has the 
further peculiarity of raising the flower stalk above the water on five or 
six inflated leaf petioles arranged like a tripod. On these stalks are 
borne several pretty yellow flowers, for which reason they have been 
given the not inappropriate name of water-candles. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 229 

Among parasitic plants are sweet pine-sap (Schweinitzia odorata, Ell.) 
parasitic on the roots of herbs, found near Baltimore and Cumberland ; 
Indian pipe (Monotropa uniflora, L.) on roots, pine-sap (Monotropa 
Hypopitys, Bart.) on the roots of beech trees, dodder (Cuscuta) on the 
bark of herbs and trees, and American misletoe (Phoradendron flavescens, 
Nutt.) with us principally on the sour gum (Nyssa). 

SHORE AND WATER PLANTS. 

In the waters of the bay and navigable rivers are found many species 
of water plants growing in some situations in such numbers as to impede 
the passage of boats. They are principally Potamogetons of different 
species and Anacharis. Water chinquapin (Nelumbo lutea, Pers.), the 
largest flowered of our native plants, is found in some of the rivers 
emptying into the Potomac. Water lily (Nymphgea odorata, Ait.), yellow 
pond-lily (Nuphar advena, Ait. f.), water-shield (Brasenia peltata, Pursh), 
ditch-grass (Ruppia maritima, L.), and horned pond-weed (Zannichellia 
palustris, L.) grow in shallow water or in ponds. 

The shores of the bay in many places are eaten into by the waves, 
causing masses of earth to fall, which are gradually removed by the 
water, leaving the bank again exposed to the encroachments of the 
waves. That this process is not everywhere more destructive is due to 
the protection afforded by plants which love a situation where their 
roots are daily covered by water. These are mainly certain grasses and 
sedges. Where a mass of sod has been formed by the densely matted 
roots of these plants, the waves beat upon them in vain, and the destruc- 
tion of land at such points ceases. If part of the sod be washed away by 
a more than commonly violent storm, the damage is repaired by the 
vigorous growth of the next season. By their aid not only is the shore 
protected in exposed places, but in sheltered places the land reclaims 
what has been taken from it at unprotected exposed points. At the point 
beyond which the highest tide seldom reaches, highwater shrub (Iva 
frutescens, L.) and groundsel-tree (Baccharis halimifolia, L.) are found. 
In some places the waters throw back what they have taken from the 
land elsewhere in sand heaps, which are seized by the roots of plants, 
held firmly against wind and water, and gradually converted into tillable 
land. Many instances of these contests between waves and plants (for 
the land itself is passive) may be found on the shores of the bay and its 
tributaries. In passing over such new-made land from the new to the 
old shore, the vegetation is found arrayed in ranks. The shore-protecting 
or land-reclaiming plants are in advance, the land in their rear being 
given up to other plants to which it has become by their action adapted, 
and these following the advance guard will surrender the soil behind 
them, or landward, in succession to others. 



230 MARYLAND. 

Several orders deserve special treatment by reason of their more 
general utility or beauty. The Orchid, the Grass and the Fern families 
have been selected. Orchids are usually associated with the tropics, and 
ferns are also found in greater luxuriance and variety in warm climates. 
The grass family is probably the most generally useful of all orders of 
plants. Their usefulness is by no means limited to the food material 
they supply to man and beast. 

ORCHIDS (OECHIDACEjE). 

Thirty species of the Orchid family have been reported in Maryland. 
They are all terrestrial, and twelve of the seventeen genera described in 
Gray's Manual are represented. The most conspicuous are the lady's 
slippers, of which we have four species : Cypripedium acaule, Ait., C. 
pubescens, Willd., C. parvifioruin, Salisb., and C. spectabile, Swartz. The 
first, the purple lady's slipper, grows plentifully in pine woods, the 
second, large yellow lady's slipper, is less plentiful and much more 
attractive, the third, small yellow lady's slipper, is still more rare, and 
the fourth, showy white lady's slipper, is the most beautiful, and among 
the rarest of our plants. Calopogon pulchella, R. Br. and Pogonia ophio- 
glossoides, Muhl., rank next to the last mentioned in beauty. Pogonia 
verticillata, Nutt., has a rather large flower, which is rendered incon- 
spicuous by its want of bright color. The genus Habenaria is represented 
by ten species; H. ciliaris, R. Br., yellow-fringed orchis, H. blephariglottis, 
Torr., white-fringed orchid, and H. peramoena, Gray, of violet-purple color, 
have attractive flower clusters. The others are not striking, except H. 
orbiculata, Torr. whose leaves, (eight inches in diameter), spread flat upon 
the ground, with shining upper and silvery under surface, render the plant 
a conspicuous object in wooded regions among the mountains. Goodyera 
pubescens, R. Br., is everywhere plentiful, and G. repens, R. Br., is not scarce 
in the mountains. Of the species of Spiranthes, ladies' tresses, S. gracilis, 
Big., is found in dry situations, S. cernua, Richard, in wet places inland, 
and S. prsecox, Watson, in wet grassy places near the shore of tide-water. 
Liparis liliifolia, Richard, is not rare in rich woods. Orchis spectabilis, 
L., is quite plentiful. Microstylis ophioglossoides, Nutt., is small, deli- 
cate and graceful. The species of Corallorhiza, Tipularia discolor, Nutt. 
and Aplectrum hyemale, Nutt., are inconspicuous by reason of dull colors, 
and the last two are more easily found in fall or winter by the leaf, 
which is absent in the flowering season. 

GRASSES (GRAMINEiE). 

Of grasses growing spontaneously in Maryland, there are about fifty 
genera, and considerably upward of a hundred species. It is needless to 
speak of the importance to man of the cultivated species as food, both 



NATURAL HISTORY. 231 

for himself and for his domestic animals. Agriculture very largely con- 
sists in the raising of grasses, wheat, rye, oats and Indian corn for the 
grain, and timothy, orchard grass, redtop, and others for hay. Many 
grasses growing without cultivation also afford excellent cattle food, 
in either a green or dried condition. There are found species peculiar to 
every situation, on sterile or rich soil, damp or dry, in meadows or forests. 
To discuss fully the agricultural aspects alone of the grasses would 
require a volume. A few only can he mentioned for the special points 
of interest that they possess. 

Reed (Phragmites communis, Trin.) is the tallest of our grasses, 
reaching a height of twelve feet. Its large terminal panicle renders it 
one of the most beautiful. Of no value as food for animals, it has been 
utilized elsewhere in many ways ; the reeds for thatching and as shafts 
for arrows, the panicle as a dye. It is described as "one of nature's 
most valuable colonists, and is largely concerned in the gradual conver- 
sion of swamps and fens, stagnant pools and other unwholesome spots 
where water accumulates, into dry land." This process may be seen in 
operation within a few miles of Baltimore. 

Indian rice (Zizania aquatica, L.) is another tall grass, growing on 
the swampy borders of streams and in shallow water. Of this plant 
Captain John Smith says : " Mattoume groweth as our bents do in 
meddows. The seede is not much unlike to rie, though much smaller. 
This they (the Indians) use for a dainty bread, buttered with deare suet." 
According to Vasey, it is still gathered by the Indians in Minnesota and 
the northwest for food. Reed-birds resort to it in great numbers when 
the seeds are ripe, and many are killed by gunners, who stand in boats 
which they push slowly through the grass. This sport is extensively 
practised on the Patapsco, near Baltimore. The bobolink as he migrates 
northward in spring, is little noticed by sportsmen, but when he returns 
in the fall, in sober plumage, and is fattened on Indian rice, he becomes 
under the name of reed-bird a much prized game. 

Sea sand-grass (Ammophila arundinacea, Host.) is one of the most 
remarkable of grasses. Its services to man on sandy seashores have 
been incalculably valuable. Many square miles of agricultural land 
have been preserved by it, in England, Scotland and Holland, from 
destruction by the drifting sand. "It is common on the sea coast," says 
the author of "British Grasses," " establishing itself among the loose 
drifting sand, its extensive creeping roots have an amazing power in 
binding together the loose material of its home, and thus forming out of 
useless drifting sand a firm bank against the encroachments of the sea. 
So well was its value appreciated in the olden times that acts of 
Parliament were issued, first in Scotland and then in England also, 
forbidding any person' to molest or injure the sea matweed on pain of 



232 MARYLAND. 

heavy fines and penalties." "The town of Provincetown, once called 
Cape Cod, where the pilgrims first landed, and its harbor, still called the 
harbor of Cape Cod, one of the best and most important in the United 
States, sufficient in depths for ships of the largest size and in extent to 
anchor three thousand vessels at once," says Flint, " owe their preser- 
vation to this grass." Though its services, happily, are not needed on a 
large scale in Maryland, a knowledge of what it has done elsewhere 
cannot but give us an increased respect for this member of our flora. 
Bermuda grass (Cynodon Dactylon, Pers.), with its low or prostrate, 
diffusely branching stems, which root freely at the joints, is our most 
common binder of sand. The shores are protected against waves by 
salt reed-grass (Spartina juncea, Willd.), salt marsh-grass (S. stricta, Roth.), 
spike grass (Distichlis maritima, Raf.), Panicum proliferum, Lam., and 
by several sedges, principally of the genus Scirpus (bulrush). 

The small cane (Arundinaria macrosperma, Michx., var. suffruticosa, 
Munro) is found in great abundance in certain limited areas of sandy 
marsh land in inland situations. The canebrakes are not numerous, but 
where one occurs the plants grow close together in such numbers as to 
exclude other vegetation. The leaves remain through the milder winters, 
the plant being destroyed only by very severe weather. A succession of 
mild winters enables it to attain a much greater size than usual. 

Among grasses whose value as food for cattle is well recognized are 
sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum, L.), which gives to new- 
mown hay its delicious fragrance, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis, L.), 
meadow fescue (Festuca elatior, L.) and rye-grass (Lolium perenne, L.). 
Many other grasses are eaten by cattle at some stage of their growth. 

Some of the grasses that are troublesome in cultivated grounds, and, 
therefore, known as weeds, are crab grass (Panicum sanguinale, L.), 
barnyard grass (Panicum crus-galli, L.), foxtail (Setaria glauca, Beauv.), 
in corn-fields, green fox-tail (S. viridis, Beauv.), bur grass (Cenchrus 
tribuloides, L.), dropseed (Muhlenbergia diffusa, Schreber), wire grass 
(Eleusine Indica, Gaertn.) and cheat (Bromus secalinus, L.), among wheat. 

Several species of Andropogon, the sedge of old sedge-fields, poverty- 
grass (Aristida dichotoma, Michx.\ Panicum depauperatum, Muhl., wild 
oat grass (Danthonia spicata, Beauv.) and Festuca tenella, Willd, are 
indicative of very sterile soil. 

In dry situations are found Aira caryophyllea, L., Deschampsia 
flexuosa, Trim, Danthonia sericea, Nutt., Triodia cuprea, Jacq. The 
principal grasses of sandy fields are : Paspalum setaceum, Michx.; 
Panicum filiforme, L. ; Aristida gracilis, Ell. ; Sporobolus asper, Kunth ; 
Eragrostis capillaris, Nees, and Uniola gracilis, Michx. ; Paspalum laeve, 
Michx.; P. Floridanum, Michx.; Panicum crusgalli, L., var. hispidum ; 
Leersia Virginica, Willd.'; L. oryzoides, Swartz ; Erianthus saccharoides, 



NATURAL HISTORY. 233 

Michx. ; Phalaris arundinacea, L. ; Trisetum palustre, Torr. ; Glyceria Can- 
adensis, Trin. ; and G. obtusa, Trin, grow in wet or marshy places. The 
most common wood grasses are : Stipa avenacea, L. ; Mnhlenbergia 
sylvatica, T. and G. ; M. Willdenovii, Trin.; Brachyelytrum aristatum, 
Beauv. ; Elymus striatus, Willd. var. villosus, Gray; and Asprella Hystrix, 
Willd. 

FEENS (PILICES). 

In that part of the United States which lies east of the^Mississippi, 
and north of Tennessee and North Carolina, the region of Gray's Manual, 
there are found twenty-one genera and sixty-two species of ferns. Of 
these, seventeen genera and thirty species are known to occur in Mary- 
land. The greater number are found in shaded situations, many upon 
rocks, some in damp thickets, others in swamps, and but one, and that 
the rarest, cliff-brake (Pellasa atropurpurea, Link.) in dry exposed places 
upon the mortar of old walls or on calcareous rocks. 

On rocks principally in woods may be found the common polypody 
(Polypodium vulgare, L.) in great abundance. The fronds remain green 
during the winter, as do those of Aspidium marginale, Swartz, and A. 
acrostichoides, Swartz (the Christmas fern\ which grow abundantly in 
rocky woods, but are not confined to rocks. 

Cheilanthes vestita, Swartz, Asplenium montanum, Willd., A. Tri- 
chomanes, L., Woodsia obtusa, Torr. and Cystopteris fragilis, Bernh., 
grow on shaded cliffs, by preference from the clefts in the rock. The 
walking fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus, Link.), grows on mossy rocks. 
Tn woods among rocks are also found Adianturn pedatum, L., (maiden- 
hair), and Asplenium ebeneum, Ait. In rich, damp situations in woods 
may be found Asplenium angustifolium, Michx., A. Filix-foemina, Bernh., 
Phegopteris hexagonoptera, Fee., Aspidium spinulosum, Swartz, var. in- 
termedium, D. C. Eaton, A. Goldianum, Hook., and Dicksonia pilosiuscula, 
Willd. Asplenium thelypteroides, Michx. is generally found in shaded 
spots. Pteris aquilina, L., and Osmunda Claytoniana, L., prefer damp 
places, but are able to exist in quite dry situations. 

Lygodium palmatum, Swartz, (climbing fern), the most beautiful of 
our ferns, grows in moist thickets and climbs by twining. Onoclea sensi- 
bilis, L., and Aspidium Noveboracense, Swartz, are found in most thickets 
or meadows. 

In swamps or on their borders, grow Woodwardia Virginica, Smith, 
W. angustifolia, Smith, Aspidium Thelypteris, Swartz, A. cristatum, 
Swartz, Osmunda regal.is, L., and O. cinnamomea, L. 



234 MARYLAND. 

MEDICINAL PLANTS. 

The following is a list of medicinal plants growing in Maryland, 
classified according to parts used : 

Roots. Polygala senega, L. ; Saponaria officinalis, L. ; Taraxacum 
officinale, Weber; Chichorium Intybus, L. ; Inula Helenium, L. ; Arctium 
Lappa, L. ; Asclepias tuberosa, L. ; Apocynum cannabinum, L. ; Euphorbia 
Ipecacuanha, L. ; E. corollata, L. ; Angelica atropurpurea, L. ; Ipomoea 
pandurata, Meyer ; Phytolacca decandra, L. ; Heuchera Americana, L. ; 
Rumex crispus, L. ; Hydrangea arborescens, L. ; Apocynum androssemi- 
folium, L. ; Baptisia tinctoria, R. Br. ; Ceanothus Americanus, L. 

Rbizomes. Aspidium marginale, Willd. ; Acorus Calamus, L. ; 
Triticum repens, L. ; Veratrum viride, Ait. ; Symplocarpus f oetidus, Salis. ; 
Chamselirium luteum, Gray ; Iris versicolor, L. ; Aletris farinosa, L. ; 
Cypripedium pubescens, Willd. ; Polygonatum biflorum, Ell. ; P. gigan- 
teum, Dietrich ; Dioscorea villosa, L. ; Sanguinaria Canadensis, L. ; 
Geranium maculatum, L. ; Nymphsea odorata, Ait. ; Podophyllum 
peltatum, L.; Asclepias Cornuti, Decsne ; Aralia nudicaulis, L.; Aristolochia 
Serpen taria, L. ; Spigelia Marilandica, L. ; Asclepias incarnata, L. ; Caulo- 
phyllum thalictroides, Michx. ; Collinsonia Canadensis, L. ; Cimicifuga 
racemosa, Nutt. ; Gillenia trifoliata, Moench ; Triosteum perfoliatum, L. ; 
Aralia racemosa, L. ; Asarum Canadense, L. ; Menispermum Canadense, L. 

Tubers and bulbs. Arissema triphyllum, Torr. ; Dicentra Cana- 
densis, D C. 

Woods and twigs. Solanum Dulcamara, L.; Sassafras officinale, Nees. 

Barks. Cornus florida, L. ; Liriodendron Tulipif era, L. ; Magnolia 
glauca, L. ; Ilex verticillata, Gray; Primus serotina, Ehr. ; Salix alba, L. ; 
Hamamelis Virginiana, L. ; Viburnum prunifolium, L. ; Quercus alba, 
L. ; Quercus coccinea var. tinctoria, Gray ; Rubus villosus, Ait. ; Rubus 
Canadensis, L. ; Fraxinus Americana, L. ; Juglans cinerea, L. ; Xanthoxy- 
lum Americanum, Mill.; Myrica cerifera, L. ; Ulmus fulva, Michx.; 
Sassafras officinale, Nees. 

Leaves and leaflets. Epigsea repens, L. ; Kahnia latifolia, L. ; Cassia 
Marilandica, L. ; Datura Stramonium, L. ; Hamamelis Virginiana, L. ; 
Castanea sativa, Mill., var. Americana; Ilex opaca, Ait.; Chimaphila 
umbellata, JSTutt. ; Gaultheria procumbens, L. ; Myrica asplenifolia, Endl. ; 
Rhus Toxicodendron, L. 

Herbs. Adiantum pedatum, L. ; Ranunculus bulbosus, L. ; Chelido- 
nium majus, L. ; Capsella Bursa pastoris, Moench; Helianthemum 
Canadense, Michx. ; Hypericum perforatum, L. ; Agrimonia Eupatoria, 
L. ; Potentilla Canadensis, L. ; OEnothera biennis, L. ; Epilobium angusti- 
folium, L. ; Viola tricolor, L. ; Drosera rotundifolia, L. ; Eupatorium 
perfoliatum, L. ; Erigeron Philadelphicus, L. ; Erigeron annuus, Pers. ; 
Erigeron strigosus, Muhl; Erigeron Canadensis, L. ; Solidago odora, Ait.; 



NATURAL HISTORY. 235 

Helenium autumnale, L. ; Anthemis cotula, L. ; Achillea Millefolium, L. ; 
Gnaplialium polycephaluin, Michx.; Lobelia inflata, L. ; Epiphegus 
Virginiana, Barton ; Scrophularia nodosa, L., var. Marilandica, Gray ; 
Chelone glabra, L.; Mentha piperita, L. ; M. viridis, L. ; Lycopus Virgini- 
cus, L.; Cunila Mariana, L. ; Hedeoma pulegioides, Pers. ; Melissa ofn- 
cinalis, L. ; Monarda punctata, L. ; Nepeta Cataria, L. ; N. Glechoma 
Benth., Scutellaria lateriflora, L. ; Leonorus Cardiaca, L. ; Plantago lan- 
ceolata, L. ; P. major, L. ; Mitohella repens, L. ; Galium Aparine, L.; 
Sabbatia angularis, Pursh. 

Leafy Tops. Juniperus Virginiana, L. 

Flowers and Petals. Tilia Americana, L. ; Malva sylvestris, L. ; 
Sambucus Canadensis, L. 

Fruits. Morus rubra, L. ; Humulus Lupulus, L. ; Rosa canina, L. j 
Rhus glabra, L. ; Cannabis sativa, L. ; Diospyros Virginiana, L.; Cheno- 
podium ambrosioides, L., var. anthelminticum, Gray ; Arctium Lappa, L. 

Seeds. Delphinium Consolida, L.; Datura Stramonium, L. 

THE TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS OP MARYLAND. 

As the natural formation of Maryland possesses such varied charac- 
teristics, presenting, as it does, a gradual transition from the mountains 
of the western part of the State to the low-lying and swampy shores of 
the Chesapeake, we naturally And a diversified and interesting fauna. 
The Chesapeake, which has so bountifully endowed the State with 
valuable industrial resources, and given the Maryland kitchen an unri- 
valled renown, furnishes in its water-fowl the most interesting and 
characteristic feature of the terrestrial fauna. 

Our ducks are the same birds that are seen on Hudson's Bay and the 
northern lakes. Following the edge of winter along the Atlantic coast, 
they appear in the Chesapeake in great numbers. The great beds of 
wild celery in the shallow waters of the bay and its tributaries are their 
favorite feeding grounds, and it is here that their flesh acquires its 
greatest delicacy and best flavor. The canvas-back, prized alike by the 
bon-vivant and the sportsman, is the most sought after and widely 
known of all our ducks. Among other ducks which make the waters of 
Maryland their winter home, may be mentioned red-heads, bald-pates, 
mallards, black-heads and teal. All these are found in great numbers, 
and are highly valued for the table. 

Swans, and geese of several species, also abound, and although they 
are wild and difficult to approach, yet they afford most excellent shoot- 
ing. There are various ways of shooting ducks on the Chesapeake and 
its adjacent waters. Sportsmen, as a rule, shoot from "blinds" and use 
decoys, while the market gunners prefer the "sink-boat," a sort of float- 
ing blind, or the nefarious and unlawful "night-reflector." A " blind" is 



236 MARYLAND. 

any sort of artificial concealment placed somewhere within a hundred 
yards of the shore — further than this the law forbids. It is generally- 
stationed in comparatively shallow water, and the place selected is 
preferably one where wild celery is growing on the bottom, for then it is 
sure to be a feeding ground for the ducks. The wooden decoys are 
anchored in front of the "blind" at a distance of about thirty yards, and 
are well calculated to deceive any passing flock or "bunch" of ducks. 
Often the "blind" is "baited" by scattering in its vicinity a quantity of 
corn or some other kind of grain. The ducks are sure to find this, and 
will come to the spot to feed as long as the grain lasts. On the Chesa- 
peake ducks are often shot in great numbers from points, bars or bridges 
as they fly over. 

Another method of shooting ducks, which is occasionally practised, 
is called " toling." A spot is selected where the bottom slopes off 
somewhat abruptly, for the birds will not approach near to the shore 
except by swimming. The gunner, on observing ducks "bedded" some 
distance from the shore, conceals himself, and causes a well-trained dog, 
which should be of a red-dirt color, to gambol before him, by throwing 
the animal chips of wood or bits of bread, which he catches in his 
mouth. The ducks, attracted by the antics of the dog and overcome by 
curiosity, cautiously approach the spot, and frequently pay the penalty 
for their temerity. A bright red cloth waved on the end of a pole will 
often have the same effect. The practise of " toling " was undoubtedly 
derived from the Indians, who imitated a habit of the fox. This 
cunning animal has been observed to resort to a similar ruse to attract 
and capture young ducks. 

The ducking shores of the Chesapeake, which are often used as 
fishing shores in summer, are as a rule owned by wealthy citizens. Some 
are leased to clubs, but most are private property and very carefully 
guarded. 

The reed-bird, which is accounted such a delicacy throughout the 
country, is found in great abundance in Maryland. This familiar bird 
has various names, being known as the bobolink, meadow-wink or skunk 
blackbird in the Northern States, and the reed-bird in the Middle States, 
while in the South it is called the rice-bird, from its habit of feeding 
on wild rice. In the West Indies, where this bird spends its winters, it is 
known as the butter-bird. The name "ortolan," which is. of ten applied 
by restaurateurs to the reed-bird as well as to the rail, is a curious 
misnomer. The ortolan is a European bird, and belongs to an entirely 
different family, that of the finches and sparrows. In the spring the 
reed-bird passes north to breed, spreading over the Middle and Northern 
States. It is then that the males assume their gay dress of black, white 
and buff, and fill the meadows with their wild delirious song. Early in 



NATURAL HISTORY. 237 

the fall they begin to moult, and finally assume the sombre plumage of 
the females. The birds now start on their southern journey, feeding and 
growing fat on wild oats and rice as they go, and thronging the marshes 
in immense flocks in company with the blackbirds. In the months of 
autumn the swamps along the Chesapeake and its estuaries are literally 
alive with these little birds, which are shot in great numbers for the 
market. The partridge, called quail in the North and West, but univer- 
sally known as "bobwhite," is met with all over Maryland. It is the 
characteristic game bird of this country, and in the eyes of the sportsman 
is a paragon of game qualities. The law of the State wisely allows the 
birds to be shot only from November 1 to February 1, but in the open 
season good partridge shooting can be had, especially in the lower 
counties. 

Among other game birds which are to be found in Maryland, are 
wood-cock, ruffed grouse, known here and further south as the " phea- 
sant," snipe, plover, and the sora or Carolina rail. The wild turkey is 
occasionally shot in the mountainous counties. 

Almost every family of North American birds is represented in the 
State by numerous species. In addition to the birds already referred to, 
may be mentioned thrushes, wrens, warblers, swallows, sparrows, black- 
birds, fly-catchers, the whip-poor-will and night hawk, the chimney- 
swift, the ruby-throated humming bird, the kingfisher, American 
cuckoos, woodpeckers, numerous varieties of owls and hawks, the wild 
dove, and the American vulture, or turkey buzzard. The common 
American crow is very abundant; the "roosts" of this bird are of 
enormous extent, frequently covering several acres. The " Baltimore 
oriole" is dear to the heart of every Marylander. Gayly attired in 
orange and black, it is familiarly associated in the minds of Marylanders 
with the gold and black colors of this State. It is not nearly so 
numerous as it used to be, and several years ago, when it was in danger 
of being exterminated at the hands of curiosity-hunters, stringent laws 
were passed for its protection. Shooting, catchiDg or killing of this 
beautiful little bird is absolutely prohibited, and even destruction or 
molestation of its nests is a punishable offense. 

Of mammals quite a large number are to be found in Maryland. 
The mountains contain deer, and the black bear is occasionally seen in 
the westernmost counties. Ground-hogs, commonly known as " wood- 
chucks," rabbits, weasels, skunk, several varieties of mice, minks, otters, 
musk-rats, moles, opossums and four species of squirrels abound. The 
wildcat, or " catamount," is still common in the least settled regions. 

Various kinds of harmless snakes are innumerable, especially the 
common black snake, which often grows to a length of five or six feet. 
Two venomous snakes occur, the copperhead, in the half cultivated 



238 MAKYLAND. 

districts, and the rattlesnake in the mountainous. The latter, despite 
all efforts to exterminate it, breeds with remarkable rapidity. In the 
summer it comes down into the valleys, where it is much dreaded. But 
being sluggish and timid, and giving its warning rattle when approached, 
it is much less to be feared than the more active and malicious copper- 
head, which attacks without warning. The black snake is its worst 
enemy, and always comes off victorious. 

In this meagre account of the terrestrial fauna an attempt has 
been made to give prominence to the more characteristic and inter- 
esting animals of the State, as well as to convey some idea of the variety 
and numbers of the more important animals. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 

KeMk S^ a - 

THE FISHERIES OP MARYLAND. 

No other State in the Union has, in proportion to its area, a coast line 
so extensive as that of Maryland, and more persons are supported in 
Maryland by capturing and preparing the products of the water than in 
any other State. 

The fisheries are our most characteristic industry, and while it is 
said that there is one State in which the capital invested in the fisheries 
and the cash value of their product are greater, we are by far the fore- 
most State in our opportunities for improving and extending our fisheries. 

The most valuable and important marine productions of Maryland 
are of such a nature that they may be multiplied indefinitely by man, and 
in this our State stands pre-eminent and offers unrivalled opportunities 
for the investment of capital and for the wise application of a knowledge 
of nature. While Maryland may well be proud of the bounties which 
nature has lavished upon her, she has even greater reason to boast of the 
opportunities which nature has given her for increasing these bounties 
by human industry and intelligence. 

It is not our purpose to write a natural history of the State, and the 
space must be devoted to a few of the most important and characteristic 
inhabitants of our waters, and to a simple untechnical account of their 
life, showing their capacity for improvement by human influences. We 
shall deal little with statistics of the past, as our chief interest is in 
the possibilities of the future. 

THE SHAD. 

The first place must be. given to that most delicate and delicious 
food fish, the shad, as this will lead us at once into a field where man's 
dominion over nature is already established ; for we shall show that the 
shad is already, in a certain sense, a domestic animal and that our 
fisheries to-day owe their existence to the intelligence and knowledge of 
nature, which have enabled man to keep up the supply by artificial 
means. 



240 MARYLAND. 

The fully grown shad is an inhabitant of the open ocean, but each 
spring these fishes visit our shores, enter our inlets and bays, and make 
their way up to the fresh water, where they deposit their eggs. 

The supply for the market is caught during the spring migration, 
when the fishes enter our inland waters heavy and fat after their winter 
feast upon the abundant food which they find in the ocean. As they 
spend most of the year gathering up and converting into the substance 
of their own bodies the minute marine organisms which would other- 
wise be of no value to man, and as their instincts compel them to bring 
back to our very doors this great addition to our food supply, and thus 
to put at our service avast fertile area of the ocean, which, without their 
aid, would be beyond our control and of no service to man, their 
economic importance is very great. 

In the year 1880 the fisheries census, and special investigations 
under the direction of the U. S. Fish Commission, showed that there 
had been a most rapid and alarming decline in the value of the shad 
fisheries in the rivers, bays and sounds of our Atlantic coast, and that 
there was reason to fear that in a few years the shad would cease to be 
of any value as a fish supply. 

The fishermen fully recognized the danger and were loud in their 
demands for laws to restrict other fishermen who, they held, were causing 
the decline by improper ways of fishing. 

The fishermen of the interior complained of the fishermen further 
down along the shores of the salt-water bays and sounds, where the 
fishes were captured in pounds and weirs, far away from their spawning 
grounds. They believed that legislation alone could save the fisheries, 
and that if these obstructions were prohibited by law, and all the shad 
were permitted to reach fresn water before they were captured, enough 
eggs would be deposited to keep up the supply, but that the destruction 
of such numbers in salt water must necessarily result in extermination. 

This seemed to fresh-water fishermen to be good logic, but the salt- 
water fishermen took a different view of* the matter. They wanted more 
legislation themselves, but of a different sort, and they claimed that 
what was needed was protection for the shad upon the spawning 
grounds. They said that they themselves furnished most of the shad 
for the market; that without them the cities could not be supplied, and 
that enough shad escaped their nets and reached fresh water to supply 
all the eggs that were needed, if they could be left to lay their eggs in 
peace. 

There seemed to be good sense in this view also, and as in the end- 
less controversies between the oyster dredgers and the oyster tongmen, 
it was difficult for a disinterested outsider to tell who was right. The 
only thing which seemed clear was that the shad were growing scarce, 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 241 

and that if the Legislature did not do something to protect them, they 
would soon be exterminated. 

In 1888 more shad were caught in salt water than were caught 
altogether in 1880, and yet the shad fisheries are now increasing in value 
from year to year, and this change has been brought about, not by the 
enactment of laws to restrict the fishery, but by the production of more 
fishes. 

In 1880 the U. S. Fish Commission began, systematically and upon a 
large scale, the work of collecting the eggs from the bodies of the shad 
which were captured for the market in the nets of the fishermen. These 
eggs were artificially fertilized and the young were kept for a short time 
in hatching jars, and the waste of eggs was thus prevented. This work 
has been prosecuted steadily ever since, and the results, up to the end of 
the season of 1888, are given in the following table: 

In Salt and Percentage of in- 
Brackish Water. In Rivers. Total. crease over 1880. 

1880 2,549,544 1,591,424 4,140,968 

1885 3,267,497 1,906,434 5,172,931 25 per cent. 

1886.. 3,098,768 2,485,000 5,584,368 34 

1887 3,813,714 2,901,661 6,715,405 62 

1888 5,010,101 2,650,373 7,660,474 85 

The money value to the fishermen of the excess in 1888 over the 
total catch of 1880 was more than $700,000. We have no record for 1889 
or 1890, but in the latter year the fisheries were more profitable than 
they have been for many years, and our markets were stocked with an 
abundance of fine shad, which were sold at prices which ten years before 
would not have been thought possible. The percentage of increase in 
1889 and 1890 has been much greater than it was in any of the years 
given in the table, and this result is not due to any change in the method 
of fishing. It is exclusively due to the increase in the supply. 

The conditions are now more unfavorable than ever to natural 
reproduction, and it can be proved that if no shad had been produced by 
man, while the other factors had remained as they now are, the fisheries 
would be completely ruined and abandoned. 

The mature fishes are now excluded by dams and other obstructions 
from the most valuable spawning-grounds, and the area which is now 
available is restricted to the lower reaches of the rivers, where there is 
little proper food for the young, and where the bottoms are so continually 
and assiduously swept by drift nets and seines that each fish is surely 
captured soon after its arrival. The number of eggs which are naturally 
deposited is now very small, for while the spawning-grounds have 
increased from 1,600,000 to 2,600,000, the take in salt water has increased 
from 2,500,000 to 5,000,000, and the shores of our bays and sounds are 
now so lined by fyke nets and pounds that the number of shad which 
16 



242 MARYLAND. 

reacli the spawning-grounds at all is proportionately much less than it 
was in 1880, and more shad are now taken each year in salt water, where 
spawning is impossible, than were taken altogether in 1880. 

This fact, rightly considered, means that the shad is now an artificial 
product, like the crops of grain and fruit which are harvested on our 
farms and orchards. 

If more shad than the natural supply were taken in 1880 in all 
waters, and if still greater numbers are now taken each year in deep 
water, before they reach the spawning-ground, it follows that we are now 
entirely dependent upon the artificial supply. 

No animal on earth or in the ocean large enough to be valuable as 
human food can long survive the attacks of an enemy who brings against 
it the resources, the destructive weapons, and the intelligence of civil- 
ized man. Fortunately, the resources which render man the most irre- 
sistible of enemies, also enable him to become a producer as well as a 
destroyer; and while the fear of him and the dread of him is upon 
every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all 
that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; while 
they are all delivered into his hands, and are powerless to resist him ; he 
alone is able to make good his ravages by agriculture, and by domesti- 
cation, by the selection and improvement of animals and plants, and by 
artificial propagation. 

In some respects the shad is the most remarkable of domesticated 
animals, for it is the only one which man has as yet learned to rear and 
to send out into the ocean in great flocks and herds to pasture upon 
its abundance, and to come back again, fat and nutritious, to the place 
from which it was sent out. 

From this point of view the maintenance of the shad fishery by 
man, by the use of artificial means, is one of the most notable triumphs 
of human intelligence over nature. 

As the shad is a marine fish which does its eating at sea, and as its 
visits to fresh water are only for the purpose of reproductioD, the 
numbers which make their way up our rivers are out of all proportion 
to the capacity of the streams for furnishing them with food. 

When they visit our coast in the spring they enter the mouths of 
the rivers in great schools, and travel up them to a most surprising 
distance ; the total length of the journey from the sea to the spawning 
ground and back again, which is made almost or quite without food, 
often exceeding a thousand miles. 

Many of them, and among these the largest fishes, go on and on 
until they meet with some insurmountable obstacle, such as a waterfall 
or dam, or until they reach the sources of the river. Before dams were 
built in the Susquehanna river, many of the shad which entered the 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 243 

Chesapeake Bay at the Capes continued their long fasting journey across 
Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania into the State of New York, and 
travelled through more than five hundred miles of inland waters before 
they reached their journey's end. 

Near the New York line fragments of Indian pottery, stamped with 
the impression of the shad's backbone, have been found, and the numbers 
of stone net-sinkers which have been picked up in the Wyoming valley 
show that the Indians had known and used these shad fisheries long 
before the first white settlers found them there at work with their rude 
seines. 

In the early part of this century, before the construction of canals 
and the dams which supply them with water, there were forty perma- 
nent fishing stations in the northern half of Pennsylvania, beyond the 
forks of the Susquehanna at Northumberland, and some of them were 
worth from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 a year to their owners, at a time when 
a dollar represented very much more value then it does to-day. 

At one of these fisheries at Fish Island, near Wilkes-Barre, there is a 
record, which seems to be trustworthy, of the capture of ten thousand 
shad at a single haul. Most of these shad were salted and sold to the 
farmers, who came from fifty miles around to barter their farm products 
and the salt from central New York for their winter's supply of fish. 

Dams across the river have cut off this valuable fishery from more 
than two hundred miles of the course of the Susquehanna river, and the 
profitable fisheries now reach for only a few miles above the boundary 
of Maryland. 

The impulse which directs this wonderful journey and brings back 
from the ocean a marine fish like the shad and guides it on its long path 
through the rivers and far up into the interior of the country is most 
wonderful. To it the value of the shad to man is due ; but our interest 
in it as a phenomenon of nature is quite independent of its economic 
importance, and we now have, through the researches of the naturalists 
of the United States Fish Commission, and especially those of Marshal 
McDonald, the commissioner, an insight into its causes, and while much 
still remains to be explained, we can now give a satisfactory explana- 
tion of most of the facts. 

The subject has given rise to much speculation, but this has usually 
been based upon such scanty and erroneous information that it has little 
value. Each fish has generally been believed to go back to its own 
birth-place, and to enter our water on a definite journey to some specific 
little shoal or to the sandy shore of a particular stream. 

This may be true of some migratory fishes, but there is evidence that 
it is not true of the shad. When young shad from the Atlantic were 
first placed in the Sacramento river they were expected to find their way 



244 MARYLAND. 

back into this river on their return as mature fish from the Pacific ocean. 
While many of them did return to this river, others made their appear- 
ance in considerable numbers in other rivers in which no young ones had 
ever been placed, and they have continued to spread further and further 
northward each year on the Pacific coast, until they are now found in 
every river between the Sacramento and Puget Sound, although there are 
no native shad in the Pacific. 

In our own waters a fishery which is very productive one year may 
yield very few shad another year, and a stream which they enter in great 
numbers one season may be almost completely passed by another season. 
When the harvest of shad is unusually abundant in the Potomac river it 
is below the average in the Susquehanna, and a season of exceptional 
abundance in the Susquehanna river is a season of comparative scarcity 
in the Potomac. 

These facts prove that the shad is not brought back to its birthplace 
by any unerring instinct of locality, but that the exact source of its 
migration is determined by external influences ; and there has been much 
speculation as to the character of these influences. 

It has been suggested that the fishes are urged by an instinct which 
causes them to swim against the current, and that when they feel the 
outflow from the mouth of a river they turn in and are thus led up and 
up the stream ; but the outward current is so slight in the wide mouths 
of the bays and sounds of our southern coast that it is completely lost in 
the ebb and flow of the tide. 

It has also been suggested that the shad are led by their fondness 
for fresh water; but the return to the sea of both the old shad and the 
young ones is part of the migration. The tendency to seek fresh water 
is undoubtedly connected in some way with the reproductive instinct, 
but we cannot believe that it is in itself enough to map out a definite 
path ; and while the shad do not usually seek fresh water until the season 
for reproduction, there is one instructive exception to this rule, for the 
shad enter the St. John's river, in Florida, in November, or several 
months before the spawning season, which is not very much earlier in 
that river than it is on the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. 

McDonald has made a careful study of the habits of migrating fishes 
in connection with the temperature of the water, and he has shown that 
when they enter the Chesapeake Bay its water is warmer than that of 
the ocean and that of the rivers, and that they remain in this deep, 
warm water until the rivers are gradually heated to a still higher tem- 
perature, when they enter these and swim upwards as the water grows 
warmer before them. 

He has also brought together many other facts to show that the 
temperature of the water is an important factor in determining the 
migration. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 245 

As a rule, the opening of the shad fishing in the spring becomes 
later and later as we pass northwards along our coast ; but there are many- 
exceptions to this rule, for the season is earlier in a small river which 
arises in the warm low land, than it is farther south in a larger river 
which has its source in the high and cool mountain springs of the 
interior. 

The shad usually make their appearance in the bay in February, 
although the height of the fishing season is in April and May, and in our 
northern tributaries even later. The male fish appear first, and they go 
up the river ahead of the females. When the temperature of a river 
rises gradually with the advance of the season, the period of migration 
is long, but if the whole course of the river is warmed by warm rains at 
its sources, they crowd into it tumultuously in great schools, and the 
season is very short. 

These facts, and many others, have led McDonald to believe that 
while the purpose of the migration is the perpetuation of the species, 
its directing influence is the temperature of the water ; and there can be 
no doubt that, so far as the first stages of the journey are concerned, this 
is the correct explanation, although the fish is no doubt urged to con- 
tinue its journey further and further up by an instinctive desire to reach 
the spawning grounds. 

The favorite spawning grounds, known to the fishermen as " shad- 
wallows," are the sandy flats near the shores of the streams, or the sand 
bars in their course. The fishes run up into them in pairs, in the early 
evening, after sunset, and the eggs are thrown out into the water while 
the fish are swimming about, but they soon sink to the bottom and 
develop very rapidly. The average number of eggs is about twenty -five 
thousand, but a hundred thousand have been obtained from a single large 
shad. 

The young fishes remain in the rivers until late in the fall, feeding 
upon small Crustacea, insect larvae, the young of other fishes, and prob- 
ably upon all the minute active animals of our fresh water, and they 
grow to a length of two or three inches by November, when they leave 
our waters for the ocean. 

As the mature shad usually takes no food in inland waters, it is not 
fished for with hook and line, but as it is unsuspicious and absorbed in 
the completion of its journey, it is easily captured by nets and traps of 
all sorts, and most of the devices known to fishermen are utilized to 
capture it. 

Before the shad enter our own bay our markets are supplied from 
our southern waters, and the fisheries of Albemarle Sound are remark- 
able for the gigantic size of the seines. These are sometimes more than 
a mile in length, and they gather in at one sweep all the fishes from a 



246 MARYLAND. 

thousand to twelve hundred acres. They are spread by steam boats, and 
their contents are dragged up on to the shore by steam engines. One 
seine of this sort gives employment to some seventy-five people, and has 
taken in one season, near the head of Albemarle Sound, fifty-two 
thousand shad, nine hundred thousand herring, and more than twenty- 
five thousand pounds of other fish. 

Shad are caught in our waters by haul seines and in pounds, as well 
as by gill nets, or nets of fine twine, with meshes large enough to admit 
the head of the shad, and to entangle it by the gills. The gill nets used 
in shad fishing are usually small. They are sometimes stretched between 
stakes planted in the mud, when they are known as " stake nets," or 
they are stretched and allowed to drift with the tide, when they are 
known as " drift nets." 

In the Susquehanna river these drift nets are used at night, and are 
set with a lantern at each end, and mounted upon a float. While they 
are drifting the fishermen in the boats " run " the nets, or pass the net 
line through their fingers from end to end. The presence of a fish is 
easily discovered in this way, and the part of the net which holds it is 
raised, the fish is removed, and the net is dropped, again to drift as 
before. It is necessary to remove the shad as quickly as possible, for 
almost as soon as they are caught they are seized, and rapidly devoured, 
as they hang in the net, by the eels which swarm in this river. The 
shad fishing ends with the upward migration, for they are so worn and 
thin with their journey and with their long fast, that they are not fit for 
food asjhey descend the river. 

Two species of river herrings enter our inland waters in incredible 
numbers at about the same time with the shad, and their habits are so 
much like those of the shad, and the methods of capturing them so 
similar that it is not necessary to enter into details. They lay their eggs 
near the mouths of the rivers, and do not usually make long journeys 
into the interior like the shad. 

They are abundant all along our coast, but the Chesapeake Bay and 
the North Carolina sounds are the centre of their distribution. Much 
greater numbers of them than of the shad are taken in our own waters, 
but the value of the product in money is much less. 

Pennant, in his " Arctic Zoology," says that they run up the rivers 
and shallow streams of Carolina in such numbers that the inhabitants 
fling them ashore by shovelsfull, and the passengers trample them under 
foot fording the rivers. Even at the present day their numbers are very 
great, and eleven million have been gathered in the Potomac in a single 
season, and three hundred thousand were landed in 1879 in Albemarle 
Sound at a single haul of the seine. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 247 

THE MENHADEN. 

As this fish is not sold in our markets nor used directly by our people 
as food, landsmen are hardly aware of its existence, although it is by far 
the most abundant fish of the Atlantic coast of the United States and, in 
many ways, one of the most important. We all know that when we eat 
beef or mutton we are indirectly eating grass, and it is equally true that 
our bay mackerel and blue fish and all our best and most valued food 
fishes are only menhaden in another shape. 

As food for predaceous fishes the menhaden is a very important 
inhabitant of our waters, and its commercial value is by no means slight, 
for nearly $300,000 is invested in the menhaden fishery in our waters, 
and in a single year the Chesapeake Bay has supplied 92,000,000 pounds of 
menhaden, which yielded 214,000 gallons of oil, worth $85,000 ; 10,500 tons 
of guano, worth $210,000; 212,000 tons of compost, worth $19,000, or an 
annual product worth more than $300,000. 

As this fish is very abundant along our coast from Cape Cod to 
Florida, it has many local names. 

Its Latin name Brevoortia tyrannies was given to it in 1802 by B. H. 
Latrobe, who was the first to recognize it as a distinct species and to give 
a description of it. As it is a toothless, helpless fish, preyed upon 
unrelentingly by all the fierce inhabitants of the deep, and hunted and 
slaughtered by the blue fish and the bonito, in mere sport, until the 
ocean for miles is smoothed with the oil from the mangled bodies of 
menhaden, we ask what can have led Mr. Latrobe to give the name 
tyrannies, a name which suggests only aggressive violence, to an inoffen- 
sive fish which feeds only upon the microscopic animals and plants of 
the water, and is absolutely helpless before its innumerable enemies. 

The story is most interesting. In southern waters a parasitic 
crustacean is very frequently found inside the mouth of the menhaden, 
clinging to its tongue or gill arches, and this animal was also discovered 
and described by Latrobe and named by him Oniscus prcegitstitator, after 
the tasters or prcegustitatores, who were forced by the Roman emperors 
or tyranni to taste all the food prepared for them as a precaution against 
poisoning. 

Among the many local names for the menhaden we find "bug fish" 
and " bug head," names which obviously have the same derivation. 

In our waters it is usually known as the " alewife," in North Carolina 
the most familiar name is " fat back," on the coast of New York and New 
Jersey it is usually called the " moss-bunker," while in New England it is 
called the "pogy " (Maine) or the " poggie " (Mass.) The name menhaden 
is also in general use along our entire coast, and there is a long list of 
local names, among which are the following : " Bony fish," " hard head," 



248 MARYLAND. 

"white fish," " bunker," " old wif e," " skipaugh," " pohague," "green tail," 
and "yellow-tailed shad." 

The menhaden is a small fish, seldom weighing a pound, and closely 
related to the herring and the shad. 

They are hatched and pass their winter in some unknown region of 
the ocean, and they visit our shores from Florida to Cape Cod in the 
warm months in innumerable multitudes, which enter the bays and 
sounds and make their way up to the tidal rivers until they meet the 
fresh water. 

They make their appearance in the Chesapeake Bay in the early 
spring and rapidly become more and more abundant, crowding into the 
sounds and inlets until the water is fairly alive with them. They herd 
together like sheep, sometimes swimming round in a circle and some- 
times advancing, but always crowding together so closely that a school of 
menhaden looks at a short distance like a solid body. The statement 
that the fishes in one of these great schools are packed as closely as 
sardines in a box is hardly an exaggeration. 

They remain in our waters or near our coast so long as the weather 
is warm, but as winter approaches they gradually work their way out 
into the ocean and disappear, so that few are found in the bay after the 
end of November. 

While of some value as food for man, it is not sold in the markets of 
Maryland, and its commercial importance is due to the fact that a 
valuable oil can be extracted from its flesh by pressure, while the solid 
remainder is an important constituent of manufactured fertilizers. 

Tt is said that more than a billion of these fishes has been taken in a 
single year on the eastern coast of the United States, and the total 
"annual product of menhaden oil is considerably greater than the total 
product of all the American whale fisheries. The oil is used to make 
paint, to tan leather, and, in fact, for most purposes which are served by 
linseed oil and whale oil, and it is asserted that much so-called whale oil 
is actually menhaden oil. 

The menhaden is also very valuable as bait for all sorts of marine 
fishes, and it is preferred to all other bait by the cod, mackerel and 
halibut fishermen. As some of the most valuable sea fisheries of the 
Atlantic are under the control of the British Provinces, and as the 
menhaden is not found north of our own coast, this fish has been made 
the subject of treaties between our country and Great Britain, and it has 
held a prominent place in the diplomatic correspondence between our 
Government and the Dominion of Canada. 

There are about sixty establishments for the manufacture of men- 
haden oil and fertilizers, or "fish factories," as they are called, on the 
Chesapeake Bay ; but as all our navigable waters are free to fishermen 



PISH AND FISHERIES. 249 

from all parts of the United States, and as the Maryland factories are, in 
part, supplied frorn Virginia waters and from the open ocean, it is 
impossible to treat the subject with reference to State lines. 

In shallow water many menhaden are caught in small seines, which 
are dragged on to the shore ; but the chief supply for the factories is 
taken in the open water in very large seines, which are called purse seines, 
as they are so constructed that the lower edges may be drawn together 
like a bag or a purse, under the school of fishes, after this has been 
surrounded by the seine. As the menhaden usually sinks into deep 
water when alarmed, the whole school may be lost if the purse fails to 
close quickly and effectively as soon as it is set. Success in fishing 
depends upon the efficiency of the purse-string; and as the net is often 
more than a quarter of a mile long and very heavy, and as it incloses 
more than an acre of water, and may contain many tons of fish, great 
ingenuity and skill are required to devise, and to use in small boats at 
sea, some means which may always be relied upon to draw together the 
loose edges of this long net at the proper instant, when it is far down 
under the water and out of sight. There are many ways of doing this, 
but. the most effective one, when the water is deep enough, is to draw the 
purse line by means of a heavy weight, which is dropped into the water 
at the proper time, to pull the bag shut as it falls. 

An ordinary purse net for deep water is a quarter of a mile long and 
seventy or eighty feet wide, so that it may hang down below the school 
of fishes, or, if the water is shallow, may rest on the bottom. Its upper 
edge is buoyed up by large cork floats, while its lower edge is weighted 
down by the heavy metal rings through which the purse line is strung. 
No net which could be used is strong enough to hold the weight of a 
school of menhaden, for a quarter of a million fishes are occasionally 
taken at one haul. They are not lifted out of the water, but are simply 
surrounded, and kept in captivity until they can be dipped up and 
landed with smaller nets; but even while they are alive and swimming 
in the water, their resistance, added to the weight of the great net, is an 
enormous load, and purse net fishing for menhaden can be carried on 
only by large parties of fishermen. 

The net is set from large row boats, but larger vessels such as sloops, 
schooners and small steam vessels are used in the business, to carry the 
fishermen and their boats to the fishing grounds, and to receive the 
fish and transport them to the factory. 

The large vessel is the home of the fishermen, and as it cruises 
about sharp watch is kept from the masthead for the schools of fishes, 
which, on bright warm days, swim so close to the surface and so densely 
packed that the surface ripple they produce is visible at a great distance, 



25 MARYLAND. 

and is easily distinguishable, by a practised eye, from the ripple caused 
by schools of other species. 

As soon as the fish are " sighted," one or two of the fishermen put 
off in small boats to keep watch of them, to study their movements, and 
to act as " drivers," and to keep them from escaping from the net, as 
this closes around them. 

In the mean time two of the large seine boats, with half of the 
long seine loaded into the stern of each, are pulled as rapidly as possible 
after the " driver," who guides them, by signals, to the proper place for 
casting the net. This is done quickly as the two seine boats are rowed 
away from each other, around the school, which is headed off by the 
" drivers." 

As soon as the boats meet, certain fishermen, to whom this duty has 
been assigned, close up the bottom of the net, by means of the purse 
line, while others begin to pull in the net, and to restrict the fishes to a 
smaller area. 

As soon as they begin this work the large vessel joins them, and, 
after the fishes are well herded in the centre of the net, this is made 
fast to the side of the large vessel, and the fishes are baled out with 
hand nets, or, on the steam vessels, by means of a great dipper of strong 
netting, which is worked from the yardarm, by means of a hoisting 
engine. 

This steam dipper scoops up several barrels of fishes each time it dips 
in among them, and it pours them into the hold of the vessel, which is 
thus rapidly filled with a great silvery mass of shining fishes. 

This work must be prosecuted as rapidly as possible, for while the 
fish do not exert much pressure on the net, so long as they are alive and 
swimming in the water, they sink as they are killed by the crowding, 
and as they accumulate at the bottom of the bag they are sometimes 
heavy enough to drag the whole net from its fastenings and to carry it 
with them to the bottom. 

As soon as the vessel is loaded it carries the fish to the factory, 
where they are unloaded by a steam hoisting apparatus, which pours 
them into a great reservoir in the upper story, from which they are 
drawn off into "cooking tanks," which are placed below the reservoir. 
A cooking tank holds some fifty barrels or more of fish, and in it they 
are exposed for half an hour or more to the influence of compressed 
steam, until they are sufficiently cooked to facilitate the extraction of 
the oil. Most of the oil is separated from the flesh by the action of the 
steam, and the rest is forced out by the action of the hydraulic presses. 

The commercial importance of the menhaden is great, but its chief 
value to our people is due to the fact that it is the food of some of our 
best food fishes. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 251 

In his " History of Useful Aquatic Animals," G. Brown Goode esti- 
mates the number of menhaden which are destroyed annually on our 
coast by predaceous animals at a million million of millions, and he says 
that "it is not hard to surmise the menhaden's place in nature; swarm- 
ing our waters in countless myriads, swimming in closely-packed, 
unwieldy masses, helpless as flocks of sheep, near to the surface and at 
the mercy of every enemy, destitute of means of offense and defense, 
their mission is unmistakably to be eaten." 

THE BAY MACKEREL OR SPANISH MACKEREL. 

This fish, which is often called the Spanish mackerel, is known to our 
own people as the bay mackerel; and as the Chesapeake Bay furnishes 
more than 80 per cent, of the two million pounds which are sent to the 
markets annually, our name for the fish is an eminently proper one. 

To the bay mackerel has been awarded, by general consent, the first 
place among the choice food fishes of the United States, and very extrav- 
agant pi'ices are often paid for it. A. wholesale rate of $1.00 a pound is 
not unusual for the first which reach the market in the spring. 

It is a summer fish, and it is most abundant during the hot months. 
The fishing season in the Chesapeake Bay is from about the end of May 
until the first of September, although a few specimens find their way to 
the market in every month in the year. 

It is a fierce predaceous fish, which, moving in great schools, follows 
the menhaden from the open ocean into our waters in the early summer 
and remains here until the first cool weather. In the hot months it 
is so abundant that its capture becomes the chief occupation of the 
fishermen. 

For many years naturalists supposed that it laid its eggs out in some 
unknown region of the open ocean in the winter ; and it was not until 
1880 that Earle discovered that the Chesapeake Bay is its chief breeding 
ground and that it lays its eggs in the summer. 

Each female fish lays an enormous number of eggs, from half a 
million to a million or more. They are so small that a cubic inch 
contains twenty thousand of them, and they float at the surface of the 
water and are driven about by the wind and tide until they hatch, and 
even after hatching the little fish, which when born is less than a tenth 
of an inch long, floats for some hours, belly uppermost and almost]motion- 
less and helpless, buoyed up by the unconsumed yolk of the egg. As 
this is gradually assimilated, the little fish grows stronger, and in a few 
hours it becomes quite active and makes its way down from the surface 
to deeper water, although it remains throughout life a surface fish, seldom 
descending to any great depth. 



252 MARYLAND. 

Nothing is known as to the history of these little fishes for their 
first winter, although mackerel five or six inches long, and probably in 
their second season, are sometimes found in the bay. 

While this fish has long been known and prized as a luxury, it is 
only within the last fifteen or twenty years that its great abundance in 
our waters in the summer months has been discovered. The pound nets, 
which now catch most of the mackerel, were not used in the bay until 
1875, and previously to this date little fishing for commercial purposes 
was carried on in the summer. 

It is stated that many of our fishermen had never seen this fish 
before 1875, and that no purchasers for them could be found in the 
market of Wilmington, N. C, in 1879. It is said that several thousand 
pounds which were sent to the dealers in Wilmington in that year were 
thrown away, as they were thought to be unfit for food. 

The bay mackerel are very fierce and powerful fishes, and when they 
are feeding in summer among the menhaden, in the lower part of the 
bay, the energy of their movements as they rush here and there among 
the menhaden is so great that they throw themselves entirely out of the 
water, and describe long, graceful curves through the air. When leaping 
out of the water mackerel may be identified at a great distance as they 
turn in the air and enter the water head first, bending their bodies and 
describing graceful curves, while most of our other leaping fishes either 
drop backwards or fall into the water with a splash. 

They enter our waters in the early summer, and leave them again in 
the fall in enormous schools, but after they have entered the bay they 
scatter and pursue their prey more independently, although they confine 
themselves to the open water, and seldom enter or even approach the 
mouths of the rivers. They shun fresh water, and as most of the large 
rivers enter the bay on its western side they are much more abundant 
and make their way much further up on the eastern than on the western 
side. 

Their habits and their distribution in oiu' waters are, in these respects, 
exactly opposite to those of the shad, which come in from the ocean in 
search of fresh water, and follow the western shore of the bay. 

The bay mackerel is a "game" fish, and a fierce fighter for life and 
liberty, and trolling for mackerel is a most exciting sport. Its activity 
is so great that it will pursue and snap at a hook dragged at the end of a 
long line from a steamboat moving at the rate of seven or eight miles an 
hour. The small schooners which are employed in mid-summer carry- 
ing watermelons from the South to our northern cities, keep their troll- 
ing lines out as they coast along our low, sandy seashore, and they 
usually catch enough mackerel and blue-fish to keep their crews supplied 
with fresh fish. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 253 

As the mackerel is a voracious fish, any conspicuous object to attract 
its attention will serve as bait, and the fishermen usually use a perforated 
cylinder of white bone or ivory, about three inches long and two-thirds 
of an inch in diameter. This is strung on the line or on a wire just 
above the hooks, and when it is dragged through the crests of the waves, 
at the end of a long line, it resembles a living animal enough to deceive 
the mackerel. 

Another favorite bait for mackerel and blue-fish is a cylinder of lead, 
cast around a wire, and covered with the skin of an eel, turned wrong 
side out. These are called " squids," and the fish is supposed to mistake 
them for these animals; but as they will chase and snap at any small 
object which is drawn rapidly through the water near the surface, 
there is no reason to suppose that they mistake the lead for any specific 
animal. 

The chief supply of bay mackerel for our market is caught with gill 
nets, or is trapped in pounds. 

An ordinary gill net is a long loose-meshed net, with floats and 
sinkers, which is set for a few hours across the path of fishes which run 
against it, and becoming entangled in the meshes, are held captive until 
the net is drawn. 

Unsuspicious fish which follow regular paths, such as the shad, are 
caught in abundance in this simple way, but the mackerel has no path, 
and when in its hunting excursions after other fishes, it meets with an 
obstruction in its way, it is much more likely to jump over it, or to dart 
off in another direction than to run its nose into the meshes of a gill net, 
and in order to catch them it is necessary to use two or three nets and to 
arrange them in such a way that they shall form a trap so that the fish 
shall strike and become entangled in one of them as it darts away from 
the others. 

Two parties of fishermen with two boats and two nets usually fish 
together, and divide the fish equally. One net is set perpendicular 
to the line of the shore, to turn the fishes out into the deep water. 
Across the outer end of this a second net is placed, so that it forms the 
top bar of a capital letter T, with its ends very much turned down, to 
intercept the fishes which have been turned aside by the leading net. 

There are many ways of setting the second net. It may be placed 
in a circle open in the line of the first net, or it may form a triangle or 
three sides of a square, or it may be arranged irregularly, or two nets 
may be used to form the trap, but the purpose to be accomplished is the 
same in all cases. After the nets have been set upon a good fishing 
ground they are left for a few hours while the owners busy themselves 
in line fishing until it is time to take them up. 



254 MARYLAND. 

A pound net is a fixed permanent net, set in essentially the same 
way, but constructed on a much larger scale, and so arranged that the 
fishes are not entangled as they are by the gill net, but are conducted 
into a large trap, or pound, in deep water, where they swim about in 
captivity until they are caught and removed by the fishermen. 

A gill net must be raised within a few hours after it is set, as the 
entangled fishes soon die. As the fishes in the pound are not entangled 
in the net they are not exposed to this danger, and they may be left in 
the pound for days without injury, although a restless, active fish, like 
the bay mackerel, which does not tamely submit to captivity, but is 
untiring in its efforts to escape, is apt to find the way out of the pound 
if left too long. 

The pound is a large enclosure of a very complicated pattern, shut in 
by a fence, which is formed of strong netting stretched upon piles, or 
posts, which are firmly planted on the bottom. The lower edge of the 
wall of netting rests on the bottom, while its upper edge is high enough 
above the surface of the water to keep the fish from escaping by 
jumping over it at high water. 

A straight wall of netting runs out from the shore and turns the 
fishes which run against it out into the deep water, where it ends just 
inside the opening into the first or big heart. This opening is about 
twenty-five feet wide, and it is so large that the fishes enter it fearlessly 
and swim about until they are stopped by the wall of the heart, when, 
in their efforts to escape into deep water, they are gradually guided by 
the walls into the inner heart, and from this, through a narrow opening 
only a yard wide, ijito the pound. 

This is a rectangular trap, about fifty feet wide, with its bottom, as 
well as its sides, covered with netting. The bottom is weighted around 
its edge by sinkers of lead, and it is kept stretched and flat by means of 
lines, which pass through metal rings at the bottoms of the posts, and 
are then made fast above water. The netting is so arranged that it may 
be detached from the posts by the fishermen in their boats, and gradu- 
ally raised to the surface until all the fishes are drawn together and 
penned in one corner, where they may be dipped out of the water with 
hand nets. 

The length and size of the pound net depends somewhat upon the 
depth of the water; and, if the bottom slopes very gradually, a second or 
even a third is built outside the first. In connection with the pound, a 
pocket or bag of netting, fifteen or twenty feet square, is constructed as 
a receptacle for fishes which are to be kept alive for a future market. 
Besides the bay mackerel, which are the most valuable product of 
the pound net fishing, great numbers of tailors or blue fish, and of trout, 
sheepshead, porgies and other food fishes are taken. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 255 

The average product for the season of a well constructed pound in a 
good locality, is said to consist of about 100,000 trout, 40,000 blue fish 
or tailors, 30,000 bay mackerel, 3,000 porgies, 1,000 sheepsheads, and 
10,000 mixed fishes, and of these the bay mackerel represent about thirty 
per cent, of the money value, which is altogether about $4,000 to each 
pound for the season. 

While most of the fishes for our city markets are now caught in 
pounds, their use in our waters is quite modern, and when in 1875 a 
New Jersey fisherman erected a pound in the lower part of the bay, 
it was torn down by the fishermen, but not before they had learned how 
to arrange and construct a pound, and had seen enough to convince them 
of the great profit to be derived from them. 

THE CRAB. 

During the warm season, or between April and October, crabs are 
found, in indescribable abundance, in all the bays and sounds, from the 
Chesapeake Bay southwards, as well as upon the outer ocean beach, and 
as they are perfectly at home in water fresh enough to drink as well as 
in that of the sea, they make their way into all the inlets and rivers 
and creeks of tide-waters. 

In many places they are so numerous that there is no market for 
them, and even in the Chesapeake Bay it is not unusual to see thousands 
dragged on to the shore and left to die or to make their way back into 
the water, by fishermen who have shaken them out of their seines and 
abandoned them. Further south the fishermen in the channels find their 
work so much obstructed by the crabs that they trample upon them, or 
crush them with clubs, to keep them from returning to the water to clog 
their nets again. In hard storms they are sometimes cast up on to the 
outer beach in windrows which stretch along the sand for miles, and 
the abundance of crabs is, perhaps, the most notable characteristic of 
our coast. 

The simplest way to catch hard crabs is to dip them up from 
shallow water with a small circular net fastened to an iron ring at the 
end of a long handle; and when crabs abound on shores which are 
favorable for wading, in water which is not too muddy, a bushel of 
them may readily be gathered in this way between tides. 

For taking them in deeper water a coarse net, stretched on a barrel 
hoop, and weighted in the centre, is baited and sunk to the bottom with 
cords, which are sometimes tied to the end of a handle, for raising it 
again to the surface. 

These methods are used by fishermen to catch the crabs with which 
they bait their fish-hooks, and by summer visitors, who enjoy the novelty 
of "crabbing," but the men who make a business of catching hard crabs 



256 MARYLAND. 

for the market or for the crab-catching establishments, usually make 
use of baited lines, as they are thus enabled to reach the crabs in the 
channels at a distance from the shore. 

The crabs are so abundant that competition for food is fierce among 
them, so that they are always hungry and ready to seize voraciously 
upon almost any sort of animal food, living or dead. Nothing comes 
amiss, and pieces of beef, pork and fish are used for bait, as are also 
pieces of the bodies of the crabs themselves. 

As soon as it seizes the bait with its claws the crab tries to carry it 
off out of the reach of other crabs, and a pull on the line only excites it 
to cling the closer to the bait, so no hooks are needed, and the crab line 
is simply a string with the bait tied to one end of it. 

Crab fishing requires no experience or skill, and the baited line is 
tossed into the water to settle to the bottom or to drift with the tide, until 
a tug at the line shows that a crab has seized it, or until there is reason 
to suppose that one has found it, for if unmolested by others, it does not 
try to carry it away, but begins at once to eat it and it may give no 
perceptible tug at the line until this is pulled in, when the big claws 
close firmly on the bait, and do not loose their hold until the crab 
reaches the surface of the water, and not always even then, for often it 
holds on until it is landed by the line, although it usually abandons the 
bait and sinks quickly out of sight as soon as it reaches the surface and 
finds itself in danger. 

A hand-net is therefore pushed under it to cut off its retreat, just 
before it reaches the surface, and as it has by this time usually awakened 
to a sense of its peril, and as it shows great agility in dodging or scramb- 
ling out of the net, it must be landed quickly and skillfully. 

As the bait is soon torn to pieces, tough substances are best, and 
tripe and tendinous pieces of beef or the tough lateral fins of rays and 
skates are favorites with the fishermen, although the crab itself is not 
fastidious, and finds the flesh, of other crabs very tempting. As crab 
flesh is very soft and is soon swept away by the tide, or pulled to pieces 
by the crabs, or sucked off by small fishes, it is not much used, although 
the crushed claw of a Qrab is an effective bait. 

The outfit of the men who make a business of catching crabs for 
the canning establishments and for the crab pens, is of the rudest 
description, and few fishermen are able to carry on their work with such 
a small capital, as all that is needed is a line and bait, a landing net, 
which may be made by stretching a piece of the ragged end of an old 
seine over a piece of barrel hoop bent like a lacrosse racquet, and a rude 
boat, sometimes made like a rough trough, of a few boards nailed 
together, but more usually dug out of a log. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 257 

A few fishermen have the beautiful canoes for which our waters are 
famous, shaped by skillful workmen into lines as graceful as those of a 
cruiser, but usually the "kinew" is like that of a savage, hacked and 
burned out of a single long narrow log, roughly sharpened at the ends. 

Besides the "kinew" and paddle, the outfit consists of a ragged 
homemade landing-net, and some five or six hundred feet of small rope, 
to serve as a bottom line, with small lines a foot or so long tied to it 
at about every two feet. 

Pieces of bait are tied to the short lines, and the long line is stretched 
along the bottom with a float to mark its position, and a stone or anchor 
of some sort at each end to keep it in place. 

The fisherman in his boat visits the line once or twice a day, and 
pulling up one end passes it over his boat, and drops it to the bottom 
again ; and then, working his way along to the other end, he catches the 
crabs with his hand-net as they come to the surface, and drops them into 
his boat, replacing the bait with a new one, if necessary. 

The number of crabs which are captured with this simple outfit is 
astonishing. A fair day's work is about a thousand, and a single 
fisherman sometimes catches as many as three thousand at one time 
from a single bottom line. The price which they get for their crabs is 
very small indeed, but in the vicinity of the canning establishments, 
where they find a market for all they catch, the fishermen earn good 
wages and find steady employment for a great part of the year. 

The abundance of the crabs in our waters is well illustrated by the 
fact that we were told, in 1884, by fishermen in the lower part of the 
Chesapeake Bay, that they were earning from $1.50 to $2.00 a day 
catching crabs to sell at one cent a dozen or ten cents a bushel; and 
these men seldom went to their work before sunrise or fished longer 
than till noon. In fact, most of them were home for the day at ten in 
the morning. 

Of the four million pounds of crabs which are annually sent to the 
market from our waters, considerably much more than half are captured 
in this simple, easy way. 

As each crab is soft for only a few hours, and as they take no food at 
this time, and hide themselves under the sand or among the grass of the 
marshes, when they are about to shed their old shells, the soft crabs are 
very much less abundant and much harder to find than the hard crabs, 
and as there is a steady demand for all which can be got to the city 
markets, the price for soft crabs is always high, although it varies 
greatly, according to the locality. The crab is very delicate and easily 
killed while soft, and it is difficult to transport alive and in good 
order to distant markets, especially in the hot weather, which is the time 
of abundance. 

17 



258 MARYLAND. 

Where there is no city market or summer resort within reach, the 
fishermen who supply the local demand receive from ten to fifteen cents 
a dozen, while in the vicinity of cities and seaside hotels, or at con- 
venient points for shipment/ the price sometimes rises to $1.00 a dozen 
or even more, although from forty-five to fifty cents is perhaps about 
the average. 

The habits of the crab at the time of shedding the old shell are 
such that they cannot be captured at this time by any of the wholesale 
methods which are so effective with the hard crabs. Soft crabs do not 
swim or leave the bottom, so they are not taken in the seines of the 
fishermen. As the hard crab itself fully appreciates the delicacy of a 
soft one, they hide from each other as well as from other enemies, and for 
this reason each one must be sought for separately by the fisherman, 
and as they do no eating while soft they cannot be tempted by bait. 

The local markets are almost entirely supplied by children, who 
wade through the shallow water of the marshes and flats at low tide, 
feeling with their bare toes for the crabs, which they pick up with their 
hands. 

When the water is clear enough for the faint outline on the sand 
which marks the place of the buried crab to be visible, soft crabs are 
taken in considerable numbers by fishermen who push themselves along 
by the handles of their nets in small boats over the shoals and sand 
banks, looking for the marks and dipping up the crabs with their nets. 
While enough soft crabs for local use may be obtained in these ways, the 
city markets demand a more constant and abundant supply, and this has 
led to the establishment of the business of keeping the hard crabs in 
captivity, in floating pens, until they shed their shells. 

Experienced fishermen can tell, even before the crab has been taken 
from the water, whether it will soon shed its shell, and if this is the 
case it is saved for sale to the owners of the crab pens, who are, of 
course, able to pay more for it than for an ordinary hard crab. The 
female crab sheds her shell within a few days after her eggs are hatched, 
and as the empty egg-shells are of a dirty brown color, while the 
unhatched eggs are clear and yellow, a female crab which is likely to 
shed soon can usually be recognized in this way at a glance. The fisher- 
men are able to judge also from the brilliancy of the colors, a crab that 
has just shed its shell being much more vividly colored than one which 
has a new shell growing under the old one. By these and other indica- 
tions, which are known only to the fishermen, the crabs which are to 
shed soon may be picked out with great accuracy, and if there is any 
doubt it can be set at rest by breaking off the tip of one of the small 
claws, to show whether or not there is a new shell under the old one. 



PISH AND FISHEEIES. 259 

The crabs which are thus selected are placed in the " shedding pen," 
which is a floating bos of laths and loose boards constructed in such a 
way that the water passes freely through it while the crabs are securely 
caged. The pen is supported at the sides by two floats of heavy timber, 
so placed that the upper edge of the pen is raised above the surface of 
the water enough to keep the crabs from climbing out. The pens are 
anchored or fastened to stakes in the smooth water of sheltered coves or 
harbors, at points where they can be guarded and visited at short inter- 
vals to fish out the soft crabs. 

These are packed in large trays and are placed in such a position 
that the water which is contained in the gill chambers shall not run out 
of them, or, as the fishermen say, "out of the mouth," for while they 
will live for a long time out of water if the gills are kept wet, both soft 
crabs and hard crabs die quickly if they become dry. 

The fishermen receive about a cent a piece for the crabs which are 
put into the pens, and the average price received by the dealers is prob- 
ably about thirty or forty cents a dozen. 

Soft crabs do not become hard out of the water, but remain soft as 
long as they can be kept alive, although the shell hardens rapidly under 
natural conditions. 

It is so easy to transport hard crabs alive, and they bear the journey so 
well that there is no part of our State where they cannot be obtained; 
and as there is, therefore, little demand for canned crabs, few of our 
people, except those who are directly interested, know of the existence of 
the crab-canning industry, although it presents a field for the profitable 
employment of capital which is capable of great extension, and puts 
within the reach of distant and less fortunate people the superabundance 
of our waters. 

As soon as the living crabs are received at the canning establishment 
they are loaded into wooden cars of open slat-work, which, when filled, 
are pushed into a steaming apparatus, when the steam is turned on, and 
the crabs exposed to it until they are cooked enough to cause the meat to 
separate readily from the shell. The shells are then broken open and 
the flesh is picked out to be packed in cans, while the refuse and the 
pieces of shell, with the exception of the upper shell, are utilized as a 
fertilizer. 

After each can has been filled with the flesh and closed up it is again 
cooked for an hour or two in a bath of boiling water. It is then opened 
to permit the vapor to escape, and is then sealed up again and cooked 
once more in boiling water. 

If these operations are carried on with care and good judgment the 
contents of the cans may be kept for an indefinite time without any bad 



260 MARYLAND. 

effect, and canned crabs from the Chesapeake Bay now find their way to 
the most distant quarter of the globe. 

When the crabs are opened after the first steaming the upper shells 
are carefully removed and thoroughly cleaned, and when the cans are 
packed for shipment a sufficient number of these shells is put into each 
package to permit its contents to be served in the shell after the manner 
which all Marylanders know to be the only true and legitimate way of 
placing "deviled" crabs upon the table. 

The supply of crabs in our waters does not as yet show any signs of 
exhaustion, but the history of the lobster fisheries proves that the 
extension of the canning industry and the increased demand for crabs 
which this will produce, must ultimately exhaust the supply. Measures 
for the preservation and protection of the crabs must some time be 
adopted, but fortunately it is not at all difficult to state what these means 
should be. 

The mother crab carries her eggs about with her until they are 
hatched, and they are well protected by the hard shell of the brood 
chamber, and are also guarded from danger by the mother crab, whose 
maternal instincts are well developed. A few crabs with eggs ready to 
hatch are found early in the spring and late in the fall, but most of the 
eggs are hatched in the hot months of July and August, and if, when 
protection becomes necessary, the taking of hard crabs for the market 
and for the canning establishments were prohibited in these months, 
enough eggs would be hatched each summer to prevent any great 
decrease in their numbers until the consumption of crabs become very 
much greater than it is now. As most of the female crabs migrate into 
the deep water at the lower end of the bay in mid-summer, their preser- 
vation by a closed season will require that Maryland and Virginia shall 
act for this purpose in concert. 

The proprietors of the canning establishments assert that this matter 
may safely be left to their own far-sighted interest in the permanent 
maintenance of the business, and that they do not make use of the 
female crabs with eggs. Observation shows, however, that hundreds of 
crabs with eggs are loaded into the cars and run into the steaming 
apparatus and cooked every day, and while it is possible that their 
flesh is not put into the cans, but is thrown away, the effect is, of 
course, the same. 

As the female crab does not shed her shell until the eggs are hatched, 
the capture of soft crabs and of those which are ready to become soft can 
have little effect upon their numbers ; and as the extension of the 
business of keeping them in " shedding pens " will increase the market 
supply of soft crabs, advantage alone will result to the community. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 261 



THE DIAMOND-BACK TERRAPIN. 



This small but expensive animal fills such, a prominent place among 
' the luxuries for which our State is famous that a few words upon the 
way our market is supplied will not be out of place, although only a 
small part of our supply comes from our own waters. 

The diamond-backed terrapin, Malacoclemmys palustris, is found 
along our entire eastern coast from southern New England to Texas, 
wherever there are salt marshes, but it is most abundant in the low half- 
submerged country which fringes most of the sounds and tidal rivers 
from the Chesapeake Bay southward. 

At one time these animals were so abundant that they could be seen 
sunning themselves on the sand-bars and sand-flats upon every warm day. 
Holbrook says they are so prolific that their numbers appear undimin- 
ished, notwithstanding their great destruction, but at present they are 
by no means abundant, and no one who does not devote himself to their 
pursuit is at all likely to meet with a single specimen. 

The streams along the salt marshes of Maryland still furnish a few, 
but the supply for our market comes for the most part from southern 
waters — from the vicinity of Norfolk and from the eastern shore of 
Virginia and from still further south. 

The habits of the diamond-back are much like those of our familiar 
pond terrapins. They are at home both on land and in the water, and 
during the summer months they are active and alert, wandering in search 
of their food, which consists of fish, crabs, marsh plants and algae', 
and in fact of most of the animal and vegetable food which the marshes 
afford. 

Early in the summer the female comes up at night on to a sandy 
shore or bar above the water and scoops out a shallow nest for her eggs, 
and the newly hatched young live for a time on land. As soon as cold 
weather approaches, the terrapin buries itself in the mud beyond the 
reach of frosts and sleeps until spring. During its active life in summer 
it cannot stay under water very long without coming to the top for fresh 
air, and it drowns like any other breathing animal when it is kept under 
water, but in its winter sleep breathing almost ceases, and the animals 
often bury themselves in the mud under water. 

The methods of catching them vary according to the season. In 
summer a few are gathered by men and boys, who wade through the 
marshes and shallow waters, catching them in their hands or dipping 
them up with hand nets. At the present day the return is too scanty to 
support a child, and this method of catching terrapins is only the occupa- 
tion of idle hours, for we must not estimate the earnings of these summer 
fishermen by the price which the city dealers charge their customers. 
There is no demand for terrapins in the summer, and those which are 



262 MARYLAND. 

caught in this way are sold at once to dealers who are able to wait until 
winter for a market, and the prices paid to the captors range from less 
than a dollar a dozen to as much, perhaps, in very favorable cases, as ten 
dollars a dozen. 

Notwithstanding its proverbial indolence, the terrapin when at home 
in or near the water is a most active animal, wary and skillful at hiding 
and escaping, and the demand has led to many improved methods of 
catching them. 

In North Carolina dogs are trained to hunt along the shores of the 
creeks for the tracks of terrapins which have come out of the water and 
to follow the trails into the marshes until they find the animals. The 
hunters also visit the sandy shores and bars at night with torches during 
the breeding season, and capture the terrapins as they come up to make 
their nests. 

Terrapins are often caught by fishermen in their seines, and traps also 
are used, made after the fashion of a lobster pot, of coarse netting- 
stretched over hoops, with a funnel-shaped opening at each end. These 
traps are baited with pieces of fish, and are set in favorable spots, but as 
a terrapin caught in a trap under water would, drown, they are placed in 
shallow water or are fastened to stakes in such a way that part of the 
trap is above water to furnish a breathing space. 

Those which are sent to market in the winter find a ready sale at 
high prices, and there are many ways of finding them in their burrows in 
the mud. 

At Beaufort, North Carolina, the dry grass of the marshes is lighted 
after the terrapins have hid themselves for the winter, and as the ground 
grows warm they are awakened and come out of their burrows, when 
they are captured without difficulty. 

Most of the supply is captured by means of terrapin " drags," con- 
structed somewhat like a naturalist's dredge. In summer the animals 
are much too active to permit themselves to be caught in this way, but 
as colder weather sets in they become more helpless, and the drag is 
then an effective collector. It consists of a coarse bag, with large meshes 
which permit the mud to flow through them and to be washed away, 
and of a frame which forms the mouth of the bag and keeps it open. 
The lower side of this frame is a heavy bar of iron three or four feet 
long, set with large strong iron teeth, which rake the mud and scoop up 
the buried terrapins. 

In the far south, where the winter's sleep is not perfect, they gather, 
in cold weather, in the mud at the bottoms of deep holes in the creeks, 
and they are captured in large seines, made for the purpose, four or five 
hundred feet long and eighteen or twenty wide, with coarse meshes. 



FISH AND FISHERIES. 263 

One end of it is made fast to a stake, and it is then set, from a boat, 
in a circle, and the two ends are then brought together and rapidly drawn 
in to the boat. During the whole process the fishermen rap upon the 
sides or bottom of the boat with oars or sticks, as it is said that this 
noise causes the terrapins to rise from the bottom, and prevents them 
from diving under the net. 

The terrapins which are gathered in the summer are kept in pounds, 
or inclosed pens, until winter, and are fed with fish and crabs. The high 
price and the gradual disappearance of the terrapins have led to efforts 
to rear them in inclosed pens, from the eggs, but these pens must be so 
large, to afford all the conditions which are necessary, that the protec- 
tion of the eggs and young animals from their enemies is very difficult, 
and, as they grow so slowly that they are not ready for market for some 
six years, few persons have attempted to rear them. 

Our waters contain many species of terrapins which, while they are 
not esteemed by our people, are elsewhere used as food, and it is an open 
secret that some of them are sometimes served as the real diamond- 
backs. 

Small green turtles, or chicken turtles, as they are called, are quite 
frequently taken by fishermen in their nets, in the lower counties of 
Maryland, for while this animal is an inhabitant of the sea, it delights 
in the mouths of rivers, and often works its way inland to a great dis- 
tance. It is a delicious article of food, but its occurrence in our waters 
is too irregular and infrequent to give it an established place among our 
resources. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY 



IE OYSTER INDUSTRY., 



THE OYSTER. 

We must give to the oyster a prominent place in the list of our 
natural resources. The vast number of oysters which the Chesapeake. 
Bay has furnished in the past is ample proof of its fertility, but it is 
difficult to give any definite statement as to the value of the oyster beds 
in past years, although there is good reason for believing that since the 
business of packing oysters for shipment to the interior was established, 
in 1834, nearly four hundred million bushels of oysters have been taken 
from our waters. 

This inconceivably vast amount of delicate, nutritious food has been 
yielded by our waters without any aid from man. It is a harvest which 
no man has sown ; a free gift from bounteous nature. 

The fact that our waters have withstood this enormous draft upon 
them, and have continued for more than half a century to meet our 
constantly increasing demands, is most conclusive evidence of their fer- 
tility and value, and the citizens of Maryland and Virginia might well 
point with pride to the boundless resources of our magnificent bay. 

Four hundred million bushels of oysters is a vast quantity, and it 
testifies to the immeasurable value of our waters ; but every one who has 
studied the subject, either on its scientific side or in the light of the 
experience of other countries, knows that the harvest of oysters from 
our bay has never, even at its best, made any approach to what it might 
have been if we had aided the bounty of nature by human industry and 
intelligence. The four hundred million bushels is the wild crop which 
has been supplied by nature, without any aid from man, and it compares 
with what we might have obtained from our waters in about the same 
way that the nuts and berries which are gathered in our swamps and 
forests compare with the harvest from our cultivated fields and gardens 
and orchards. 

When we have learned to make wise use of our opportunities, and 
when the oyster-beds of the bay have been brought to perfection, a 
harvest" of four hundred million bushels in half a century will not be 
regarded as evidence of fertility. 




1. Packing and Canning Oysters. 
4. Processing Oysters. 



THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 

!. Raw Shucking. 

i. Steamed Oyster Shuckers. 



3. Converting Oyster Shells into Lime. 
6. Weighing and Canning. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 265 

It will take many years of labor to bring the whole bay under 
thorough cultivation, and it will require a great army of industrious and 
skillful farmers, and great sums of money ; but the expense and labor 
will be much less than an equal area of land above water requires; and 
while it may be far away, the time will surely come when the oyster 
harvest each year will be fully equal to the total harvest of the last 
fifty years, and it will be obtained without depleting or exhausting the 
beds, and without exposing the laborers to hardships or unusual risks. 

This is not the baseless speculation of an idle fancy. Our opportu- 
nities for rearing oysters are unparalleled in any other part of the world, 
and in other countries much less valuable grounds have by cultivation 
been made to yield oysters at a rate per acre which, in our own great 
beds, would carry our annual harvest very far beyond the sum of all the 
oysters which have ever been used by the packers of Maryland and 
Virginia. 

This is capable of proof by evidence from other countries, but it 
may be proved with equal conclusiveness, by the natural history of the 
oyster. 

The Chesapeake Bay is one of the rich agricultural regions of the 
earth, and its fertility can be compared only with that of the valleys of 
the Nile and the Ganges and other great rivers. It owes its fertility to 
the same causes which have enabled the Nile valley to support a dense 
human population for untold ages without any loss of fertility, but it is 
adapted for producing only one crop, the oyster. 

All human food is vegetable in its origin, and whether we eat plants 
and their products directly, or use beef, mutton, fish, fowls or eggs for 
food, we are carried back to the vegetable kingdom; for if there were 
no plants all animals would starve at once. Every one knows that this 
is absolutely true of all terrestrial animals, and all naturalists know that 
it is equally true of sea food. The blue-fish preys on smaller fishes ; 
many of these on still smaller ones; these, in their turn, on minute crea- 
tures; these upon still smaller animals, and these pasture on the micro- 
scopic plants which swarm at the surface of the ocean. However long 
the chain may be, all animals, those of the water as well as those of the 
land, depend upon plants for food, although most of the vegetable life of 
the ocean is of such a character that its existence is known to naturalists 
alone. 

If there were no plants all animals would starve, and no animal is a 
direct food producer, for it can furnish nothing except what it has got 
from plants. Now, for the purpose of animal life, a small plant is as 
effective as a large one, for however small it may be it still has the 
power, which is possessed by no animal, to gather up the inorganic 
matter of the earth, and to turn it into vegetable matter fit for the 



266 MARYLAND. 

nourishment of animals. Microscopic plants can do this work as well as 
great forests of lofty trees, provided they are numerous enough; and size 
counts for nothing. 

Every one knows that the sea is rich in animal life; that it contains 
great banks covered with cod and haddock, miles and miles of water 
crowded full of mackerel and herring ; and great monsters of the deep, 
such as the whales and sharks. To the superficial observer the vegeta- 
tion of the sea appears to be very scanty, and, except for a fringe of sea- 
weeds along the shore, the great ocean seems, so far as plant life is 
concerned, to be a barren desert. If it be true that all animals depend on 
plants for their food, the vegetation of the ocean seems totally inade- 
quate for the support of its animal life. 

The microscope shows that its surface swarms with minute plants, 
most of them of strange forms, totally unlike any which are familiar, 
and having nothing in common with the well-known trees and herbs and 
grasses of the land, except the power to change inorganic matter into 
food which is fit for animals. 

Most of these plants are so small that they are absolutely invisible to 
the unaided eye, and even when they are gathered together in a mass, it 
looks like slimy, discolored water and presents no traces of structure. 
They seem too insignificant to play any important part in the economy of 
nature, but the great monsters of the deep, beside which the elephant 
and the ox and the elk are small animals, owe their existence to these 
microscopic plants. 

Their vegetative power is wonderful past all expression. Among land 
plants, corn, which yields seed about a hundredfold in a single season, is 
the emblem of fertility, but it can be shown that a single marine plant, 
very much smaller than a grain of mustard seed, would fill the whole 
ocean solid in less than a week, if all its descendants were to live. 

This stupendous fact is almost incredible, but it is capable of rigorous 
demonstration, and it must be clearly grasped before we can understand 
the life of the ocean. As countless minute animals are constantly 
pasturing upon them, the multiplication of these plants is kept in check, 
but in calm weather it is no rare thing to find great tracts of water many 
miles in extent packed so full of them that the whole surface is converted 
into a slimy mass, which breaks the waves and smooths the surface like 
oil. The so-called " black water " of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans, the 
home and feeding ground of the whale, has been shown by microscopic 
examination to consist of a mass of these plants crowded together until 
the whole ocean is discolored by them. Through these seas of " black 
water " roam the right whales, the largest animals on earth, gulping at 
each mouthful hundreds of gallons of the little mollusca and Crustacea 
which feed on the plants. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 267 

In tropical seas ships sometimes sail for days through great floating 
islands of this surface vegetation, and the Red Sea owes its name to the 
coloration of its water by great swarms of microscopic plants which are of 
a reddish tinge. The plant life of the ocean is ample for the support of 
all its animal life, just as the vegetation of the land gives a maintenance 
to all terrestrial animals. 

The source of the food of animals is the vegetable world. What is 
the source of the food of plants ? 

Most of it consists of mineral matter, derived from the crust of the 
earth; but before this can be used by plants it must be dissolved in 
water. The solid rocks cannot maintain life until they have been ground 
down and dissolved, and, in the form of frost and rain, water is continually 
breaking down and wearing away the hard rocks and carrying the frag- 
ments down to lower levels to form the fertile land of the hillsides and 
valleys and meadows. As the roots of the plants penetrate this loose 
material they gather up the mineral food which is dissolved by the rain 
and convert it into their own substance, and as their leaves fall and their 
trunks decay, the decaying vegetable matter gradually builds up the 
leaf-mould and meadow-loam which are so well adapted for supporting 
vegetable life. Each year, however, the heavy rains wash great quantities 
of this light, rich soil into the rivers, which at times of flood cut into 
their banks and carry the arable laud, which has been built up so slowly, 
down to lower levels, until at last it finds its way to the ocean and is lost, 
so far as its use to man is concerned. 

In a long, flat river-valley it may be arrested for a time, so that man 
may make use of it, but its final destination is the ocean, and as this has 
already been enriched by the washings through untold ages, all that is 
most valuable for the support of life is now dissolved in its waters, or 
deposited upon its bottom, where man can make no use of it. 

We love to dream of the shipwrecked treasures which lie among the 
bones of the sailors on the sea-bottom ; of the galleons sunk and lost 
with their precious cargoes of bullion and jewels from the treasure- 
chambers of the Incas and the palaces of Asia ; but all these, and all the 
" gems of purest ray serene, the dark, unfathom'd caves of ocean bear " : 
all the thousands of tons of gold and silver which, as chemists tell us, 
the sea holds dissolved in its waters — all these are as nothing when com- 
pared with these precious washings from the land of all that fits it for 
supporting life. 

Man will some time assert his dominion over the fishes of the sea, 
and will learn to send out flocks and herds of domesticated marine 
animals to pasture and fatten upon the vegetable life of the ocean and to 
make its vast wealth of food available, but at present we are able to do 
little more than to snatch a slight tribute from the stream of nutritive 



268 MARYLAND. 

material which is flowing down into the ocean, as it comes to temporary 
rest in the valleys of our great rivers. 

Every one knows the part which these great river-valleys have 
played in human civilization. In the valley of the Nile, of the Tigris, 
and of the Ganges we find the most dense populations ; here were the 
great cities of the past ; here agriculture and architecture were developed, 
and here art, literature and science had their birth. 

We owe to the great river-valleys, where the natural fertility of the 
soil has lightened the struggle for bread and has afforded leisure for 
higher matters, all that is most distinctive of civilized man. 

The Chesapeake Bay is a great river- valley ; not as large as that of 
the Nile or Ganges, but of enough consequence to play an important part 
in human affairs, and to support in comfort and prosperity a population 
as great as that of many famous states. It receives the drainage of a 
vast area of fertile land stretching over the meadows and hillsides of 
nearly one-third of New York, and nearly all of the great agricultural 
States of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The most valuable part 
of the soil of this great tract of farming land, more than forty million 
acres in area, ultimately finds its way to the bay, in whose quiet waters 
it makes a long halt on its journey to the ocean, and it is deposited, all 
over the bay, in the form of fine, light, black sediment, known as oyster- 
mud. 

This is just as valuable to man, and just as fit to nourish plants, as 
the mud which settles every year on the wheat fields and rice fields of 
Egypt. It is a natural fertilizer of inestimable importance, and it is so 
rich in organic matter that it putrefies in a few hours when exposed to 
the sun. In the shallow waters of the bay, under the influence of the 
warm sunlight, it produces a most luxuriant vegetation ; but with few 
exceptions, the plants which grow upon it are microscopic and invisible, 
and their very existence is unknown to all except a few naturalists. 
They are not confined like land plants to the surface of the soil, and 
while they are found in great abundance on the surface of the mud, they 
are not restricted to it, for their food is diffused in solution through the 
whole body of water, and the mud itself is so light that it is in a state 
of semi-suspension, and the little plants have ample room among its 
particles. 

On land, the plant-producing area is a surface, but the total plant- 
producing acreage of the bay is many times greater than the superficial 
area of its bottom. 

As the little plants are bathed on all sides by food, they do not have 
to go through the slow process of sucking it up through roots and stems, 
and they grow and multiply at a rate which has no parallel in ordinary 
familiar plants, and would quickly choke up the whole bay if they 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 269 

were not held in check; but their excessive increase is prevented by- 
countless minute animals which feast upon them and turn the plant sub- 
stance into animal matter, to become in their turn food for larger 
animals. As a matter of fact, they are not very abundant, but there is 
no difficulty in finding them in any part of the bay, by straining the 
water through a fine cloth. In this way we obtain a fine sediment, which 
is shown by the microscope to consist almost entirely of them. 

The variety of these microscopic plants and animals is very great, 
and a series of large volumes would be needed to describe the microscopic 
flora and fauna of the bay. Most of them occur in other waters as well, 
but many are peculiar to the bay, which is an exceptionally favored spot 
for their growth. 

The exploration of this invisible world with a microscope is an 
unfailing delight to the naturalist, but at first sight it seems to have no 
particular bearing on human life. The ability to turn inorganic mineral 
matter into food for animals and for man does not depend on size, and in 
this respect the microscopic flora of the bay is as efficient as corn or pota- 
toes, but infinitely more active and energetic. 

In the oyster we have an animal, most nutritious and palatable, especi- 
ally adapted for living in the soft mud of bays and estuaries, and for 
gathering up the microscopic inhabitants and turning them into food for 
man. 

The fitness of the oyster for this peculiar work — for bringing back to 
us the mineral wealth which the rivers steal from our hillsides and 
meadows — is so complete and admirable, so marvellous and instructive, 
that it camiot be comprehended in its complete significance, without a 
thorough knowledge of the anatomy and embryology of the oyster. 

The inestimable value of our inheritance in the black mud of the 
bay has been pointed out, and it now remains to show that the oyster is 
an animal which has been especially evolved for life in this mud, and 
that through its aid we may make our inheritance available. A thorough 
knowledge of the oyster will teach much more than this. It will show 
the capacity of the oyster for cultivation, and it will also show why its 
cultivation is necessary, and why our resources can never be fully 
developed by oysters in a state of nature. We have never enjoyed the 
hundredth part of our advantage, nor can we ever do so if we continue to 
rely upon nature alone ; and this fact, which has been proved again and 
again by statistics, is perfectly clear to any one who knows what an 
oyster is, and what are its relations to the world around it. As its world 
is chiefly microscopic, no one can penetrate into the secrets of its 
structure and history without training in the technical methods of the 
laboratory ; and business contact with the oyster cannot possibly, with 
any amount of experience, give any real insight into its habits and mode 
of life. 



270 MARYLAND. 



THE ANATOMY OF THE OYSTER. 



The most prominent fact in the organization of the oyster is its 
shell. Its body is shut in between two long concave stony doors, which 
are made of limestone, and are fastened together at one end, somewhat 
in the same way that the covers of a long, narrow check-book are bound 
together at the back. One of these shells, the flat one, is on the right 
side of the body, and the other, which is much deeper, on the left. 
When oysters are fastened to each other or to rocks, the left shell is 
attached, and the oyster lies on its left side. When it is at home and 
undisturbed its shell is open, so that the water circulates within it, but 
when disturbed it shuts its shell with a snap, and is able to keep it 
firmly closed for a long time. The snapping drives out the water, 
together with any irritating substances which may find their way in, and 
on the natural beds the oysters snap their shells shut, from time to time, 
for this purpose. The snapping is popularly called feeding, but it is 
nothing of the kind. It serves to drive food out instead of taking it in, 
and so long as the shell is open a gentle current of water is drawn in by 
a delicate piece of microscopic machinery, which will be explained later 
on. The food of the oyster consists of invisible organisms which float 
in the water and are drawn in with it. 

The apparatus for opening and closing the shell is very interesting. 
If you were to open a check-book, and were to wedge a piece of rubber 
between the leaves, close to the back, it would form a spring, which 
would be squeezed by closing the book, and would open it again when 
released. A book with such a spring would be open at all times, except 
when forcibly closed. Wedged in between the two shells of the oyster, 
at their narrow ends, is an elastic pad, the hinge-ligament, which acts in 
exactly the same way. When the shell is forcibly closed the ligament 
is squeezed, and it expands when it is released and thus throws the free 
edges of the shells apart. The ligament is not alive. It is formed, like 
the shell itself, as an excretion from the living tissues of the oyster, and 
its action is not under the control of the animal. It keeps the shell 
open at all times, unless it is counteracted, and for this reason an oyster 
at rest and undisturbed, or a dead oyster, always has its shell open. 

The active work of squeezing the ..passive ligament and closing the 
shell is done by a large, powerful muscle, made up of a bundle of con- 
tractile fibres which run across the body between the shells, and are 
fastened to their inner surfaces over the dark-colored spots which are 
always to be seen on empty oyster shells. The muscle is known to 
oyster-openers as the heart, and they assure you that when this is cut, 
the vital point, the seat of the oyster's life, is reached and that a wound 
here causes instant death. This is of course an error, and cutting the 
muscle causes the shell to open simply because it destroys the animal's 




THE ANATOMY OF THE OYSTER. 



■ 



^HdejiXCq Lithocaushc BnlL. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 271 

power to close it ; but a fresh oyster on the half-shell is no more dead 
than an ox which has been hamstrung. Any one who has struggled with 
an oyster-knife to force open an obstinate thick-shelled specimen, knows 
the great strength of this little muscle. It is said that when fishermen 
are caught by the feet or hands between the shells of the giant clam of 
the Pacific, they never escape alive, but are held, as if by a vise, until 
the tide rises and drowns them; but firmly as the muscle of the oyster 
holds the shell together, a little skill is all that is needed to overcome it. 

The work of closing the shell is done by the muscle, but we must 
go very much farther in the study of the oyster in order to find why it 
closes. It is opened by the mechanical properties of the ligament, but 
the cause of its closure cannot be the mechanical properties of the 
muscle, for these are just the same whether it is active or at rest. Careful 
investigation shows the existence of a wonderful apparatus, consisting of 
the muscle which does the work, of nerves which connect the muscle 
with the brain, of other nerves which run to the more exposed parts of 
the oyster's body, and of sense organs which are connected with the ends 
of these sensory nerves, and these serve to put the animal into commu- 
nication with the external world. Though very much simpler, the 
mechanism is essentially like that of our own bodies. The oyster's shell 
is lined by a fleshy mantle, which is fringed by a border of dark-colored 
sensory tentacles, which are partially exposed when the shell is opened. 
The approach of danger is perceived by these organs, which transmit a 
sensation of danger along the sensory nerves to the brain, and this in 
turn sends a nervous discharge along another set of nerves to the muscle 
and this shortens under the stimulus and pulls the shells together and 
holds them fast. 

The muscle is attached to the shell at some distance from the hinge, 
in order that it may have leverage and work to advantage; and it must 
therefore be able to move as the shell grows, for in an oyster three inches 
long its area of attachment is outside what was the extreme border of 
the shell when this was only an inch long. The muscle travels by the 
addition of new fibres on its outer surface, together with the absorption 
and removal of those on its inner border. As it moves, the old impres- 
sion on the shell is gradually covered up by new deposits of lime, and in 
an empty shell it may be traced for some distance up towards the hinge 
when it gradually becomes more faintly marked, as the layers of new 
shell grow thicker. A very good idea of the way the shell grows and 
keeps pace with the growth of the body, may be gained by the careful 
examination of the muscular impression on its inner surface. Every fool 
knows why a snail has a house, but the king could not tell how an oyster 
makes his shell. We can now give a satisfactory answer to what will not 



272 MARYLAND. 

I hope, be thought a fool's question : " Canst tell how an oyster makes 
his shell?" 

The shell, on each side of the body, is lined by a thin, delicate, 
fleshy fold, the mantle ; which may be compared to the outer leaf on 
each side of the check-book, next the cover. It lies close against the 
inside of the shell, and forms a delicate living lining to protect the body 
and the gills, and it is also the gland which makes the shell. 

At all times, while the animal is alive, it is laying down new layers 
of pearl over its whole inner surface, and as each successive layer is a 
little larger in area than the one before, the shell increases in size as well 
as in thickness, and the hinge, where there are many layers, is very 
thick, while the edge, which is new, is quite thin and sharp. Each layer 
is very thin, hardly thicker than a sheet of tissue paper, but the deposi- 
tion of layer on layer gradually results in a solid box of stone. 

Shells which grow on rough, irregular surfaces conform to their 
shape as perfectly as if they had been moulded into the ridges and fur- 
rows, like soft clay. An oyster growing in the neck of a bottle takes the 
smooth, regular curve of the glass, and on the claw of a crab an oyster 
shell sometimes follows all the angles and ridges and spines, as if it were 
made of wax instead of inflexible stone. Its apparent plasticity and the 
mouldings of its surface are due to the flexibility of the soft edge of the 
mantle. When the oyster is at rest this protrudes a little beyond the 
edge of the shell, so that each new layer is a little larger in area than the 
last one. The soft mantle readily conforms to the shape of the body to 
which the oyster is fastened, and however irregular this may be, the new 
shell takes its shape and closely adheres to it, because the new deposits 
are laid down directly upon it. 

You will see from this account the error of the current belief that 
an old oyster cannot fasten itself. Since the adhesion takes place around 
the growing edge, an oyster may fasten itself at any time, and clusters of 
oysters are often found with their shells soldered together near their 
tips. This can of course only occur after they are well grown. 

Oysters are able to close up broken places in their shells, and most 
molluscs sometimes absorb and rebuild parts of the shell. If any foreign 
body gets in between the shell and the mantle, shelly matter is deposited 
upon it. The pearls of the pearl oyster are formed in this way. Some 
small particle, such as a grain of sand, works its way in, and forms a 
nucleus which is gradually covered by layer after layer of pearl. The 
brilliant lustre, as well as that of mother-of-pearl, which is nothing but 
polished shell, is due to the interference of light caused by the laminated 
structure. 

A series of microscopic specimens of stages in the growth of the shell 
may be obtained, and made to exhibit the whole history of the process, 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 273 

if we put into the shells of a number of oysters thin glass circles, such 
as are used to cover microscopic specimens, and then return the oysters 
to the water and leave them undisturbed until new shell begins to be 
formed on the glasses. These may then be taken out and studied under 
the microscope. 

At the end of twenty-four hours the glass will be found to be covered 
by a transparent, faintly brown film of thin gummy deposit, which 
exhibits no evidences of structure, and contains no visible particles of 
lime, although it effervesces when treated with acids, thus showing that 
it contains particles too small to be visible with a microscope. The 
gummy film is poured out from the wall of the mantle, and in forty-eight 
hours it forms a tough leathery membrane fastening the glass cover to 
the inside of the shell. At about this time the invisible particles of 
lime begin to aggregate and to form little flat crystals, hexagonal in out- 
line, and about j^ of an inch long. The crystals grow and unite into 
little bundles of groups, and new ones appear between the old ones, 
until, at the end of six days, the film has completely lost its leathery 
character and has become stony, from the great amount of lime present 
in it. In three or four weeks tlje glass cover is completely built into the 
shell and can no longer be seen, and its place is only to be traced by its 
form, which is perfectly preserved upon the inner surface of the shell. 
When broken out it is found to be coated with a thick plate of white 
shell, which is beautifully smooth and pearly upon the side nearest the 



Microscopic examination of this plate shows that it is made up of an 
immense number of minute crystals, packed and crowded together into a 
solid mass, without any regular arrangement. These observations show 
that the new layers are thrown off in the form of a gummy excretion 
from the mantle, with the lime in solution, and that the particles unite 
with each other and form crystals while the gum is hardening. 

The oyster obtains the lime for its shell from the water, and while 
the amount dissolved in each gallon is very small, it extracts enough to 
provide for the slow growth of the shell. It is very important that the 
shell be built up as rapidly as possible, for the oyster has many enemies 
continually on the watch for thin-shelled specimens. In the lower part 
of the bay we may lean over a wharf and watch the sheepshead mov- 
ing up and down with their noses close to the piles, crushing the shells 
of the young oysters between their strong jaws and sucking out the soft 
bodies ; the juices from the bodies of the little oysters stream down from 
the corners of their mouths, to be swept away by the tide. 

The sooner a young oyster can make a shell thick enough to resist 
such attacks the better, not only for the oyster but for us also ; for once 
past this dangerous stage of development, there is a prospect that it may 

18 



274 MARYLAND. 

live to complete its growth; although it is true that the fully grown 
oyster has many enemies which either crush the shell or pull it apart, or 
bore holes through it in order to reach the delicate flesh within. At all 
times in its life its chance of survival is greatest when the supply of 
lime is so abundant that it is able to construct rapidly a thick, massive 
shell. The rate of growth of any animal must be regulated by the 
supply of that necessary ingredient of its food which is least abundant, 
as may be illustrated in many ways. To run a locomotive the engineer 
must have fuel and water and oil. He needs very little oil, but that 
little he must have. After this is gone, an unlimited supply of fuel and 
water will not help him. He must have oil or stop. So, too, if he have 
plenty of oil and fuel, but only a little water, he must stop as soon as the 
water fails. In general, the amount of work he can do is determined by 
his supply of that of which he has least. If food in general is abundant 
while there is a scarcity of one necessary article, growth can take place 
only so fast as the scarce article can be procured. A superfluity of other 
things is of no value, for it cannot be utilized. 

There are many reasons for believing that the growth of oysters is 
limited by the supply of lime ; and that all the other necessary ingre- 
dients of their food are so abundant that an increase in the supply of 
lime would cause more rapid growth, greater safety from enemies, and an 
increase in the number of oysters. All kinds of shelled molluscs grow 
more rapidly, and reach a greater size, and have stronger and thicker 
shells in coral seas, where the supply of lime is unlimited, than in other 
waters. In some parts of the Bahamas the large pink-lipped conch, the 
shell which we often see for sale in the fruit stores of Baltimore, is so 
abundant that whole islands, large enough to be inhabited, are entirely 
made up of the broken fragments of these beautiful shells, which have 
been pounded to pieces and heaped up by the waves. 

The fresh-water mussels of our western rivers are very large in lime- 
stone regions, and so abundant that the bottom is almost paved with 
them, while in another river, perhaps only a few miles away, but flowing 
through a country where there is little lime, they are few and very 
small, with thin, fragile shells. 

If you turn over the old bones which are sometimes found in the 
woods and fields, you will nearly always find a number of snails which 
have been drawn to them for the sake of the lime. 

In order that the oyster may grow rapidly, and may be securely 
protected from its enemies, it must have lime. The lime in the water of 
the bay is derived in great part from the springs of the interior, which, 
flowing through limestone regions, carry some of it away in solution, 
and this is finally carried down the rivers and into the bay. Some of it 
is no doubt derived from deposits of rock in the bed of the ocean, and 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 275 

some from the soil along the shores. Now, the geologist will tell you 
that all the limestone rock has at one time been part of the bodies 
of living animals. Limestone is either old reefs of fossil coral, or beds 
of extinct shells, or the skeletons of other animals and plants which 
lived in remote ages and stored up the lime from the ocean at a time 
when it was more abundant than it is now. The oyster gets the greater 
part of its lime from these sources in this roundabout way, but a very 
considerable portion is obtained in a much more direct way, by the 
decomposition of old oyster shells. 

We save up egg shells to feed laying hens, but we waste our oyster 
shells in every possible way, and treat them as if they were of no value. 
Some are burned for lime, some are used for making roads and wharves, 
some are used for filling in low land, some are dumped in great piles at 
convenient spots in the bay, where they sink far down into the mud and 
are lost. 

There is another far more important reason why they should be 
returned to the beds, but their value as food for the oyster is very great, 
and this alone should lead us to return them to the beds. On the oyster- 
beds an old shell is soon honeycombed by boring sponges and other 
animals, and as soon as the sea-water is thus admitted to its interior, it is 
rapidly dissolved and diffused. In a few years nothing is left. It has all 
gone back into a form which makes it available as oyster food, and it soon 
begins its transformation into new oyster shells. In this way the oysters 
obtain some of their lime directly without being compelled to draw on 
the inland beds of ancient fossils, and if all the shells could be returned 
to the beds, this source of supply would be greatly increased. 

The difference between the right and the left shells of the oyster has 
a very profound significance, for in science nothing is trivial or unim- 
portant. Most of the near relations of the oyster, like the clam and the 
fresh-water mussel, have the two sides of the body, and the two shells, 
alike. These animals are not fastened nor stationary like the oyster. 
They move from place to place in search of food, and their line of 
locomotion lies in the plane which divides the body into halves. They 
are erect and bilaterally symmetrical like other locomotor animals, such 
as the horse, the fish, the butterfly and the crab. The full-grown oyster 
has no locomotor power and it lies on its left side, but in the early part 
of its life it is very active, and is then bilaterally symmetrical like the 
clam. When it ceases its wanderings and settles down for life, it topples 
over, falls on its left side, and fastens itself by its left shell, which soon 
grows deep and spoon-shaped, while the right becomes a flat, movable 
lid. The body, which was originally symmetrical, becomes distorted or 
twisted to fit the difference in the shells ; and naturalists see in the fact 
that the locomotor relations of the oyster are symmetrical through life, 



276 MARYLAND. 

while the oyster loses its symmetry as soon as it settles down, one of the 
proofs that it is descended from locomotor ancestors. There are many 
other proofs that this has been its history, and that it has, in compara- 
tively modern times, learned to fasten itself to rocks above the soft mud 
of our bays and estuaries, in order to avail itself of the rich vegetation; 
that it has lost its symmetry in order to fit it for this mode of life. The 
oyster is a very ancient animal, and its sedentary habits belong to the 
modern part of its history; although this change took place very long 
ago, so far as human chronology goes, and fossil oysters are found in 
many parts of the world. 

In order to understand the anatomy of the oyster, a clear conception 
of the structure and significance of its gill is most important. In all the 
bivalve molluscs the gills are very complicated, and they dominate over 
the whole structure of the body in such a way that an anatomical sketch 
of the animal is of necessity little more than an account of the gills. A 
thorough knowledge of the oyster-gill will not only throw light on the 
purpose and use of all its other organs ; it will at the same time help us 
to understand the great value of the animal as a means for making the 
microscopic inhabitants of our waters useful, and it will also show how 
well it is adapted for cultivation, and why it is impossible for natural 
oysters to stock the whole bay without aid from man. 

The labor which is necessary before we can have a clear, accurate 
picture of them, of their complicated structure, their relations to other 
parts of the body, their use and their origin, is considerable, but it is 
well worth while, for the gills give us the key to the whole significance 
of the oyster; but this requires close attention to all the details of a 
long, complicated and minute description, which from the nature of the 
case cannot be stated briefly, although it may^ all be put in simple 
language. 

A gill is, of course, a breathing organ, for aerating the blood by 
exposing it to the oxygen in the water; and the oyster has a heart for 
driving to the various organs of the body the blood which has been 
purified in the gills. It is easy to see and study the oyster's heart, but in 
order to do so the animal must be opened with great care, by cutting the 
muscle with a thin sharp blade, as near the shell as possible. If this is 
done, a small semi-transparent space will be seen close to the inner edge 
of the muscle. The thin membrane which covers the space is the peri- 
cardium, or the chamber which holds the heart, and through its trans- 
parent wall this may be seen slowly pulsating, for an oyster is not killed 
by opening its shell, and its heart continues to beat for hours, or, under 
favorable conditions, for days. If the pericardium be gently lifted and 
cut with sharp scissors, the heart, with its blood-vessels, will be exposed. 
It consists of two chambers, the auricle, which receives the pure blood 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 277 

from the gills, and a ventricle, which drives it through arteries to the 
various organs of the body. 

While the gill of an oyster is a breathing organ, like the gill of a 
fish or crab or conch, this is only one of its many uses. The fish and the 
crab and the conch have other organs for supplying the gills with a 
stream of fresh water, but the gills of the oyster, besides purifying the 
blood, keep up a circulation of water for themselves. They are also 
organs for gathering up food from the water, and after it has been 
gathered they become organs for carrying it to the mouth. They are 
also reproductive organs, adapted for securing the fertilization of the 
eggs, and thus providing for the propagation of the species. In the 
European oyster and in the mussel they are also brood-chambers, in 
which the young are held and protected and nourished during their 
early stages of growth, until they are large enough to care for 
themselves. 

An organ which is at once a gill, a pump for supplying the gills with 
water, a food-collector, an organ for carrying the foocl into the mouth, a 
reproductive organ, and a nursing-chamber, must, of course, be compli- 
cated. The oyster's gill does all these things, and does them all well. 
It is not a jack-of -all-trades, but a machine which is beautifully adapted 
for carrying them all on at the same time, in such a way that each use 
helps the other uses instead of hindering them. This is the more 
remarkable since an ordinary mollusc, such as the conch, has distinct 
organs for all these pui*poses, although the oyster's gill does everything 
just as well and just as readily as the various organs of the conch. 

There are four gills in the oyster, two on each side of the body. 
They are long, flat, thin, leaf-like organs, placed side by side, and nearly 
filling the mantle chamber in which they hang. Each gill is made up 
of two leaves, so that there are in all eight gill-leaves. 

If you gum together the ends of a folded sheet of foolscap paper, so 
as to make a flat pocket, this, when held vertically, with the opening 
above, will form a pretty good model of a single gill. 

The closed portions of the four gills hang down into the mantle- 
chamber, side by side, but their upper edges are fastened to each other 
and to the inside of the mantle in such a way that they form a folded 
partition, something like a double W, which divides the mantle-chamber 
into two parts : a lower chamber, in which the gills hang, known as the 
gill-chamber, and an open chamber, into which the pockets open. This 
chamber is known as the cloaca, the Latin word for a sewer, or channel 
for waste water, and the fitness of the name will soon be seen. 

The partition between the two chambers is formed somewhat in this 
way. The upper edge of the outer leaf of the outer gill is united, along 
its whole length, to the inner surface of the mantle. The upper edge of 



278 



MARYLAND. 



the inner leaf of the outer gill is united to the same edge of the outer leaf 
of the inner gill. The upper edges of the inner leaves of the two inner 
gills are united to each other on the middle line of the body. 

If you were to make four pockets out of four sheets of paper, and 
were then to gum two of them together along their free edges, you would 
make a double pocket, which might be opened out so that a section 
through it would be like a W. This would serve as a model of the two 
gills on one side of the body, and two more sheets, treated in the same 
way, would make a model of the other two gills. Now gum two Ws 
together, side by side, and the double W will be a model of the four gills. 
Now open a very large book-cover, just far enough to gum the upper 
outer edge of one "W to the inside of the cover, and the opposite' edge of 
the other W to the other, and you will have a rough model of the coarse 
anatomy of the oyster's gills. The space between the covers is the 
mantle-chamber, divided by the gills into a lower portion or gill-cham- 
ber, in which the gills hang, and an upper cloacal chamber, into which 
the pockets open. 

So far we have spoken "of the gills as if the pockets reached, without 
interruption, from end to end, but this is not the case. Each pocket is 
divided up, by a series of vertical partitions, into a number of small 
cavities — the water tubes, each of which ends blindly below and opens 
above into the cloaca. 

To represent them in our model we must gum the two leaves of 
each pocket together from top to bottom along a series of vertical lines 
about an inch apart. Our model is very much larger than the actual gill, 
of course. 

The spaces between the partitions which are thus formed will 
represent the water tubes, closed below and opening above into the 
cloaca, and our model will now illustrate the anatomy of the gill, so far 
as it can be made out without a microscope. 

We must now consider the minute anatomy. If a small piece of one 
of the gills be cut out and spread flat upon a glass slide, so that its sur- 
face may be examined under a microscope, it will be found to be 
thickly covered with parallel ridges running from top to bottom, like 
the lines on the sheet of paper, each ridge being separated from the next 
one by a deep furrow. In the bottoms of the furrows there are many 
minute openings — the water pores, which pass through the wall of the 
gill into the water tubes, and thus form the channels of communication 
between the two divisions of the mantle-chamber. 

The ridges themselves are hollow, or, rather, each one contains a 
minute blood-vessel, which runs throughout its entire length, so that 
each wall of each gill is practically a grating of parallel, vertical blood- 
vessels, in which the blood is purified by contact with the water which 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 279 

fills the gills and the chamber in which they hang. The purified blood 
is then forced into larger vessels, which carry it to the heart, by which it 
is pumped to all parts of the body, to be again returned to the gills after 
it has become impure. 

The gills are therefore easily intelligible, so far as they are 9imply 
organs of respiration; they hang in the water which fills the mantle- 
chamber, and their walls are filled with blood-vessels in which the blood 
comes into close contact with the water. 

The way in which the current of fresh water is kept up to bathe the 
gills continually with a new supply is more complicated. 

When one of the ridges on the surface of the gill is examined with a 
high power of the microscope, it is found to be fringed on each side by a 
row of fine hairs, each one less than A inch long, and so fine that they 
are invisible under a low magnifying power. They project from the 
sides of the ridges, over the furrows between them, and therefore over- 
hang the water pores in the bottoms of the furrows. 

In a fragment cut from a fresh gill, each one of these hairs is con- 
stantly swaying back and forth, with a motion like that of an oar in 
rowing, quick and strong one way, and slower the other way. They all 
move in time, but they do not keep stroke, for each one comes to rest an 
instant before the one on the other side; so that waves of motion are 
continually running from one end of each ridge to the other, like the 
waves which you have seen running over a field of ripe grain, as each 
stalk bends before the wind and then recovers. 

What would happen if a boat's crew were to row with all their 
strength, with the boat tied to a wharf? As they could not pull the 
boat through the water, they would push the water past the boat. This 
is exactly what these microscopic hairs do. They set up a current in the 
water. Each one is so small that its individual effect is inconceivably 
minute, but the innumerable multitude causes a vigorous circulation, 
and each one is set in such a position that it drives the water before it 
from the gill-chamber into one of the water pores, and so into one of 
the water tubes inside the gill; and as these are filled they overflow into 
the cloaca and fill that. If the mantle were closed, all the water would 
soon be pumped out of the gill-chamber into the cloaca, but you remem- 
ber that an oyster at rest always has the mantle open. As fast as the 
gill-chamber is emptied by the hairs, fresh water streams in from outside 
to be, in its turn, driven through the water pores into the water tubes, 
and through them into the cloaca, where it is driven out between the 
open shells and away from the oyster. 

So much for the gills as organs for maintaining a current of water. 
We come now to the way in which they procure food. 



280 MARYLAND. 

The food of the oyster consists of microscopic organisms, minute 
animals and plants, which swim in the water. They are pretty abundant 
in all water, hut those who do not work with the microscope have very 
erroneous ideas on the subject. When a professional exhibitor shows 
you, under the microscope, what he calls a drop of pure water, it is 
nothing of the sort. It is either a collection made by filtering several 
barrels of water, or else it is a drop squeezed from a piece of decayed 
moss, or from some other substance in which they have lived and multi- 
plied. 

Sea water is like fresh water in this respect, and an oyster must 
strain many gallons of water to get its daily bread ; but the gills, with 
their hundreds of thousands of microscopic water pores, are most efficient 
strainers. 

The surface of the gills is covered by an adhesive excretion for 
entangling the microscopic organisms contained in the water, and as this 
circulates over and through the gills, they stick fast like flies on fly- 
paper. The hairs which drive the water through the gills, push the 
slime, with the food which has become entangled in it, towards the 
mouth, which is well up towards the hinge ; for it is hardly necessary to 
say that what the oystermen call the mouth is only the opening between 
the halves of the mantle. 

On each side of the mouth there is a pair of fleshy organs called 
the lips, although they are more like mustaches than lips, for they hang 
down on each side of the mouth. One on the right is joined to one on 
the left, above the mouth, while the other two are joined below it, so 
that the mouth itself lies in a deep groove or slit between the lips. 

The ends of the gills fit into this groove, and as the hairs slide the 
food forward, it slips at last between the lips and slides into the mouth, 
which is always open. As this process is going on whenever the oyster 
is breathing, the supply of food is continuous, and while it consists, for 
the most part, of invisible organisms, the oyster's stomach is usually 
well filled. It is not necessary to describe the oyster's stomach and 
intestine, and dark-colored liver, as these will be understood from the 
figure. The chief purpose of this anatomical sketch is to show the won- 
derful way in which the gills of the oyster fit it for gathering up the 
microscopic life of our bay, and for turning it into valuable human food. 
Looked at from this point of view, the minute anatomy of the animal 
becomes eminently practical, as it enables us to understand its true rela- 
tion to man. 

In view of the very exceptional fertility of the bay, and its bound- 
less capacity for producing microscopic vegetation, the immense import- 
ance of an animated strainer perfectly adapted for filtering very great 
quantities of water, for gathering up the microscopic life which it con- 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 281 

tains, for digesting and assimilating it, and for converting it into food of 
the most attractive and nutritious character, cannot be overestimated ; 
but after we have studied the embryology of the oyster, we shall under- 
stand why the natural oysters alone can never utilize all the resources of 
our waters. We shall see why it is that the oyster is so well fitted for 
domestication and cultivation, and why the cultivation of oysters will 
render the Chesapeake Bay incomparably more valuable than it has ever 
been, even before our natural beds began to deteriorate. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. 

The body of an oyster is not a simple, unorganized lump of flesh, but 
a complicated organism, made up of many parts, each one so related to 
the other parts that we must study the whole animal before we can 
understand the admirable adjustment of each organ to its use. 

The oyster is unintelligible until we have studied the organs which 
compose it, and the organs themselves are unintelligible unless they are 
studied as constituent parts of the whole. 

The oyster is a unit, a complete individual whole, made up of units 
of a lower order, the organs, in somewhat the same way that a regiment 
of soldiers is a unit, made up of units of a lower order, the companies. 

A description of the organs of the oyster does not, however, by any 
means complete the analysis of its body, for when any part is studied 
under a microscope, after it has been properly prepared, it is found to be 
made up of units of a still lower order, just as each company is made 
up of individual soldiers, or as the ten dimes which make a dollar are 
themselves made up of cents. 

Every part consists of cells, which are united into organs, in nearly 
the same way that these are united to form the oyster; and in order that 
its development from the egg may be intelligible, this fact must be held 
clearly in mind. 

Each cell is a minute portion of living matter, with an individuality 
of its own, like the individualities of the soldiers which form the 
regiment. 

The properties of each organ are due, in part, to the way in which 
the cells are arranged, and in part to the properties of the cells them- 
selves, for the cells which enter into one organ may be quite different 
from those which enter into another. 

Each of the cells which form the glandular surface of the mantle is 
itself a gland, and is quite different from a muscle cell, so that, in a 
certain sense, the activity of the mantle in forming the shell is the sum 
of the activities of its cells, just as the evolutions of a regiment are the 
sum of the actions of the soldiers, but a regiment can do many things 



282 MARYLAND. 

which would be beyond the power of an unorganized mob, and the 
formation of the shell is due to the activity of the mantle as a whole. 

In an adult oyster we have gland cells in the mantle, muscle cells in 
the muscles, nerve cells in the nervous system, ciliated cells in the gills, 
and so on ; but if we study the animal at earlier and earlier stages, we 
find that these distinctions disappear, until, in ultimate analysis, all the 
cells are alike so far as the microscope can tell us. 

They are simply minute, definitely limited masses of living matter, 
with the power to grow when furnished with food; and after their size 
has thus increased, they have the power to multiply by splitting up into 
smaller and more numerous cells, which in their turn grow and multiply 
in the same way. 

They at first exhibit no traces whatever of the uses to which they 
are to be put, but as they grow older they gradually become specialized 
in various directions and are built up into the tissues and organs of the 
body, losing at the same time their sharp distinctness and fusing with 
each other. 

Just as certain cells become gland cells, others muscle cells, and so 
on, certain cells of the adult body become set apart as reproductive cells, 
eggs in the female and male cells in the male. 

The egg cells grow until they become^very much larger than any of 
the ordinary cells of the body; at the same time their outlines become 
sharply defined, and they become dark-colored and granular. The gran- 
ular appearance is due to the fact that as they approach maturity they 
become filled with food, which is stored away in them as a provision for 
the time when they are to be cast off from the body of the oyster, to 
lead an independent existence. 

The male cells are very much smaller than the eggs, they contain 
little food, and when they are mature each of them is furnished with a 
long cilium or vibrating hair, by means of which the cell is able to swim 
in the water, while the egg is motionless and sinks to the bottom as soon 
as it is set free. 

When the reproductive elements are fully ripe they are discharged 
from the body into the cloacal chamber of the mantle. The male cells 
are swept out into the ocean by the current produced by the gill cilia. 
As they contain no food supply, their power to live independently is very 
limited, and all soon die except those which come into contact with eggs. 

In the American oyster the eggs are swept out into the water in the 
same way. The eggs of the European oyster are much larger and 
heavier, and they fall into the water tubes of the gills and lodge there. 
Here they are exposed to the current of water which circulates through 
the gills, and this current brings with it some of the male cells which 
swim in the water around the oyster-bed. As soon as one of them comes 



THE OYSTER 



PLATE II. 




Fig.3. K 

THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. 



KOEK & CO. Lith. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 283 

into contact with an egg it fuses with it and loses its individuality and 
is lost in the substance of the egg, which is thus fertilized and at once 
begins its development into a new oyster. 

There is no such provision for securing the fertilization of the eggs 
of the American oyster. They are thrown out into the water, like the 
male cells, to be fertilized by accident, and while many of them meet 
with male cells, innumerable multitudes sink to the bottom and are lost. 
It is fortunate for other animals that this is the case, for our oyster is so 
prolific that if all the eggs were to be fertilized and were to live and to 
grow to maturity, they would fill up the entire bay in a single 
season. 

Far from being an exaggeration, this statement is much short of the 
truth. An average Maryland oyster of good size lays about sixteen 
million eggs, and if half of these were to develop into female oysters, 
we should have, from a single female, eight million female descendants 
in the first generation, and in the second, eight million times eight 
million or 64,000,000,000,000. In the third generation we should have 
eight million times this or 512,000,000,000,000,000,000. In the fourth, 
4,096,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. In the fifth, 33,000,000,000,000,000,- 
000,000,000,000,000,000 female oysters, and as many males, or, in all, 
66,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. 

Now, if each oyster fill eight cubic inches of space, it would take 
8,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to make a mass as large as the 
earth, and the fifth generation of descendants from a single female 
oyster would make more than eight worlds, even if each female laid 
only one brood of eggs. As the oyster lives for many years, and lays 
eggs each year, the possible rate of increase is very much greater than 
that shown by the figures. 

The waste of oyster eggs through lack of fertilization is simply 
inconceivable; but it is possible to fertilize them artificially by mixing 
the eggs and the male cells in a small quantity of water, where they are 
certain to come into contact with each other. In this way about 98 per 
cent, of the eggs may be saved and made to produce young oysters, and the 
writer has had at one time in a small tumbler of water a number of active 
and healthy oysters, greater, many times, than the whole human popula- 
tion of Maryland 

If several oysters are opened during the breeding season, which 
varies according to locality and climate, as will hereafter be shown, a 
few will be found with the reproductive organ greatly distended and of 
a uniform opaque-white color. These are oysters which are spawning 
or ready to spawn, that is, to discharge their eggs. Sometimes the 
ovaries are so gorged that the ripe eggs ooze from the openings of the 



284 MARYLAND. 

oviducts before the mass is quite at the point of being discharged. If 
the point of a knife be pushed into the swollen ovary, a milk-white fluid 
will flow out of the cut. Mixing a little of this with sea water, and 
placing it on a slide underneath a cover, a lens of 100 diameters will 
show, if the specimen is a female, that the white fluid is almost entirely- 
made up of irregular, pear-shaped, ovarian eggs, each of which contains 
a large, circular, transparent, germinative vesicle, surrounded by a layer 
of a granular, slightly opaque yolk. Perfectly ripe eggs will be seen to 
be clean, sharply defined, and separate from each other. If the specimen 
be male, a glance through the microscope shows something quite different 
from the fluid of a female. There are no large bodies like the eggs, but 
the fluid is filled with innumerable numbers of minute granules, which 
are so small that they are barely visible when magnified 100 diameters. 
They are not uniformly distributed, but are much more numerous at 
some points than at others, and for this reason the fluid has a cloudy or 
curdled appearance. By selecting a place where the granules are few 
and pretty well scattered, very careful watching will show that each of 
them has a lively, dancing motion ; and examination with a power of 
500 diameters will show that each of them is tadpole-shaped, and con- 
sists of a small, oval, sharply-defined " head," and a long, delicate 
"tail," by the lashing of which the dancing is produced. These are the 
male cells, whose union with the eggs of the female is necessary 
to the fertilization of the latter and the consequent hatching of living 
oysters. 

The number of male cells which a single male will yield is great 
beyond all power of expression, but the number of eggs which an average 
female will furnish may be estimated with sufficient exactness. An 
unusually large American oyster will yield nearly a cubic inch of eggs, 
and if these were all in absolute contact with each other, and there were 
no portions of the ovaries or other organs mixed with them, the cubic 
inch would contain 500 s , or 125,000,000. Dividing this by two, to allow 
for foreign matter, inter-spaces and errors of measurement, we have 
about 60,000,000 as the possible number of eggs from a single very large 
oyster. 

It has been shown that by mixing eggs extracted from a female with 
male cells it is an easy matter to secure their union in a watch-crystal or 
in a glass beaker. 

The body of the oyster, like that of all animals, except the very 
simplest, is made up of organs ; such as the heart, digestive organs, gills 
and reproductive organs, and these organs are at some period in the life 
of the oyster made up of microscopic cells. Each of these consists of a 
layer of protoplasm around a central nucleus, which, in the egg, is a 
large, circular, transparent body, known as the germinative vesicle. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. . 285 

Each, cell of the body is able to absorb food, to grow, and to multiply by 
division, and thus to contribute to the growth of the organ of which it 
forms a part. The ovarian eggs are simply the cells of an organ of the 
body, the ovary, and, so far as the microscope shows, they differ from the 
ordinary cells only in being much larger and more distinct from each 
other; and they have the power, when detached from the body, of 
growing and dividing up into cells, which shall shape themselves into a 
new organism like that from whose body the eggs came. Most of the 
steps in this wonderful process may be watched under the microscope, 
and, owing to the ease with which the eggs of the oyster may be 
obtained, this is a very good egg to study. 

About fifteen minutes after the eggs are fertilized they will be found 
to be covered with male cells. In about an hour the egg will be found 
to have changed its shape and appearance. It is now nearly spherical, 
and the germinative vesicle is no longer visible. The male cells may 
or may not still be visible upon the outer surface. In a short time a 
little transparent point makes its appearance on the surface of the egg, 
increases in size, and soon forms a little, projecting, transparent knob — 
the pole-cell. 

Recent investigations tend to show that while these changes are 
taking place, one of tbe male cells penetrates the protoplasm of the egg 
and unites with the germinative vesicle, which does not disappear, but 
divides into two parts, one of which is pushed out of the egg and becomes 
the pole-cell, while the other remains behind and becomes the 
nucleus of the developing egg, but changes its appearance so that it is 
no longer conspicuous. The egg now becomes pear-shaped, with the 
pole-cell at the broad end of the pear, and this end soon divides into 
two parts, so that the egg is now made of one large mass and two slightly 
smaller ones, with the pole-cell between them. 

The later history of the egg shows that at this early stage it is not 
perfectly homogeneous, but that the protoplasm which is to give rise to 
certain organs of the body has separated from that which is to give rise 
to others. 

If the egg were split vertically we should have what is to become 
one-half of the body in one part and the other half in the other. The 
single spherule at the small end of the pear is to give rise to the cells of 
the digestive tract of the adult, and to those organs which are derived 
from it, while the two spheres at the large end are to form the cells of 
the outer wall of the body and the organs which are derived from it, 
such as the gills, the lips and the mantle, and they are also to give rise to 
the shell. The upper portion of the egg soon divides up into smaller 
and smaller spherules, until we have a layer of small cells wrapped 
around the greater part of the surface of a single large spherule. This 



286 MARYLAND. 

spherule now divides into a layer of cells, and at the same time the 
egg, or rather the embryo, becomes flattened from above downward and 
assumes the shape of a flat, oval disk. In a sectional view it is seen to 
be made up of two layers of cells ; an upper layer of small transparent 
cells, which are to form the outer wall of the body, and which have been 
formed by the division of the spherules which occupy the upper end of 
the egg; and a lower layer of much larger, more opaque cells, which are 
to become the walls of the stomach, and which have been formed by the 
division of the large spherule. 

This layer is seen, in a section, to be pushed in a little toward the 
upper layer, so that the lower surface of the disk-shaped embryo is not 
flat, but very slightly concave. This concavity is destined to grow deeper 
until its edges almost meet, and it is the rudimentary digestive cavity. 
A very short time after this stage has been reached, and usually within 
from two to four hours after the eggs were fertilized, the embryo under- 
goes a great change of shape. 

A circular tuft of long hairs, or cilia, now makes its appearance at 
what is thus marked as the interior end of the body, and as soon as these 
hairs are formed they begin to swing backward and forward in such a 
way as to constitute a swimming organ, which rows the little animal up 
from the bottom to the surface of the water, where it swims around very 
actively by the aid of its cilia. This stage of development, which is of 
short duration, is of great importance in rearing the young oysters, for it 
is the time when they can best be siphoned off into a separate vessel and 
freed from the danger of being killed by the decay of any eggs which 
may fail to develop. On one surface of the body at this stage there is a 
well-marked groove, and when a specimen is found in a proper position 
for examination, the opening into the digestive tract is found at the 
bottom of this groove. The embryo now consists of a central cavity, the 
digestive cavity, which opens externally by a small orifice, the primitive 
mouth, and which is surrounded at all points, except at the mouth, by a 
wall which is distinct from the outer wall of the body. Around the 
primitive mouth these two layers are continuous with each other. 

Soon a small irregular plate makes its appearance on each side of 
the body. These little plates are the two valves of the shell, and in the 
oyster they are separated from each other from the first, and make their 
appearance independently. 

Soon after they make their appearance the embryos cease to crowd 
to the surface of the water, and sink to various depths, although they 
continue to swim actively in all directions, and may still be found, occa- 
sionally, close to the surface. The region of the body which carries the 
cilia now becomes sharply defined, as a circular, projecting pad, the 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 287 

velum, and this is present and is the organ of locomotion, at a much 
later stage of development. 

The two shells grow rapidly and soon become quite regular in out- 
line, hut for some time they are much smaller than the body, which 
projects from between their edges, around their whole circumference, 
except along a short area, the area of the hinge, upon the dorsal surface, 
where the two valves are in contact. 

The two shells continue to grow at their edges, and soon become 
large enough to cover up and project a little beyond the surface of the 
body, and at the same time muscular fibres make their appearance. 
They are so arranged that they can draw the edge of the body and the 
velum in between the edges of the shell. In this way that surface of 
the body which lines the shell becomes converted into the two lobes of 
the mantle, and between them a mantle cavity is formed, into which the 
velum can be drawn when the animal is at rest. While these changes 
have been going on over the outer surface of the body, other important 
internal modifications have taken place. 

Soon the outer wall of the body becomes pushed inward, to form the 
mouth. The digestive cavity now becomes greatly enlarged, and cilia 
make their appearance upon its walls; the mouth becomes connected 
with the chamber which is thus formed, and which becomes the stomach, 
and minute particles of food are drawn in by the cilia, and can now be 
seen inside the stomach, where the vibration of the cilia keep them in 
constant motion. Up to this time the animal has developed without 
growing, and is scarcely larger than the unfertilized egg, but it now 
begins to increase in size. 

Soon after the mouth has become connected with the stomach this 
becomes united to the body wall at another point a little behind the 
mouth, and a second opening, the anus, is formed. The tract which 
connects the anus with the stomach lengthens and forms the intestine, 
and soon after, the sides of the stomach become folded off to form the 
two halves of the liver, and various muscular fibres now make their 
appearance within the body. 

Such is the scientific history of the oyster-embryo. The pra.ctical 
utility of the knowledge, however, to the most of us, is that the Ameri- 
can oyster lays a vast number of eggs, but that they are exposed to 
dangers so constant and innumerable, that under ordinary conditions few 
ever come to life, or at any rate succeed in living long enough to anchor 
themselves and take on the protection of shells. This is only another 
example of a fact well known to naturalists. The number of eggs laid, 
or even of individuals born, has very little to do with the abundance of 
a species, which is determined mainly by the external conditions to 
which it is exposed. 



288 MARYLAND. 

The young American oyster leads a peculiarly precarious life, since 
it is first thrown out an unfertilized egg, and the chance that it will 
immediately meet with a male cell must he very slight ; yet if it does 
not it will perish, for the sea-water soon destroys unimpregnated eggs. 
Having by good chance become fertilized by meeting a male cell, the 
next period of great danger is the short time during which the embryos 
swarm to the surface of the water. They are so perfectly defenseless, 
and so crowded together close to the surface, that a small fish, swimming 
along with open mouth, might easily swallow, in a few mouthfuls, a 
number equal to a year's catch. They are also exposed to the weather, 
and a sudden cold wind or fall in temperature, such as occurred several 
times during our experiments, killed every embryo. The number which 
are destroyed by cold rains and winds must be very great indeed. As 
soon as they are safely past this stage, and scatter and swim at various 
depths, their risks from accidents and enemies are greatly diminished. 
Up to this point, which is reached in from twenty-four hours to six days, 
there is no difficulty in rearing them in an aquarium, provided uniform 
warm temperature be preserved. 

Although we failed to keep the young oysters alive until they were 
large enough to handle and plant, our experiments showed the possibility 
of rearing them in unlimited numbers, so soon as some practical method 
of preserving them alive during their infancy should be discovered. 

The mature oyster is a sedentary animal with no power of locomo- 
tion. It lies on its side, soldered to the bottom by the outside of the 
deep spoon-shaped left shell, for which the flat right shell forms a 
movable lid. Its gills are very complicated organs, adapted for drawing 
into the fixed shell a steady current of water, and they pour into the 
open mouth of the animal a constant stream of food, so that eating goes 
on as uninterruptedly as breathing, and is just as much beyond the 
control of the animal. The adult oyster makes no efforts to obtain its 
food, it has no way to escape from danger, and after its shell is entered it 
is perfectly helpless and at the mercy of the smallest enemy. So far as 
active aggressive life goes it is almost as inert and inanimate as a plant, 
and its life is purely vegetative. This is the adult oyster. The young 
oyster is very different. It is an active animal, swimming from place to 
place. Its gills are not leaf-like, and they do not divide the mantle- 
chamber into two parts. They are nothing but breathing organs, and 
are simple, finger-like tentacles which hang down into the water. There 
is no gill-current as there is in the adult, and the young oyster must find 
its own food by swimming through the water. Its two shells are also 
exactly alike, and therefore quite different from those of the adult. 

The egg therefore tends, at first, to build up an animal which differs 
greatly from the adult, in structure as well as in habits, and naturalists 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 289 

believe that our modern, oysters are the descendants of an ancient form 
which was not sedentary, and the egg at first exhibits a decided tendency 
to build up this ancestor rather than an oyster. 

Some may ask how we know that the remote ancestors of the oyster 
were different from modern oysters. This is a fair question, and we shall 
try to give an outline of the reasons for this opinion, and perhaps an 
illustration may help us. 

When a Baltimorean visits New York or Savannah or Boston or 
Chicago, he finds that while the people of these cities talk the same 
language, it is with a difference. They all talk what they call English, 
but when an Englishman comes among us he tells us that it is not 
English; and it is quite clear to an American who visits England that the 
people there do not know how to talk United States, although the differ- 
ences are trivial ones, of accent and idiom, and do not in the least hinder 
conversation. 

If, however, we cross the narrow strip of water which separates 
England from the German empire, we find a strange language, which at 
first seems totally unfamiliar and unintelligible, but as our ears become 
more accustomed to the strange sounds we find many which are not as 
unintelligible as they seemed at first. 

When a German talks of his vater, his mutter, his bruder, his 
sc/i wester, when he asks us to share his brod und butter, or offers us a 
glas wasser or a glas bier, we need no dictionary to tell us what he means. 

We know that the Americans and the English of to-day are descended 
from common ancestors, only a few generations back, from whom we 
have inherited their common language; and we know from literature 
that this was not exactly the same as modern English or modern Amer- 
ican, and history also tells us that still further back, Anglo-Saxon and 
modern German had a common starting point. Philologists therefore 
make use of the resemblances between languages to trace out their 
origin; and whenever they find that two or three languages have a 
common plan, a fundamental similarity of grammatical structure, they 
believe that they are divergent modifications from a common starting- 
point. In some cases printed language has preserved an actual history of 
the process, but in other cases, where there is no such history, the student 
of comparative grammar forms his conclusions by comparison ; and, 
even where the primitive language is lost, he is able to reconstruct it in 
part, for he knows that it must have been characterized by all the 
features which its derivatives have in common. 

Now, animals exhibit resemblances of very much the same character 

as those between languages; and when we find that several representatives 

of a great group are constructed upon the same fundamental plan, we 

infer, just as the philologist does, that they are the divergent descendants 

19 



290 MARYLAND. 

of a common ancestor, from whom they have inherited the features 
which they have in common. 

The philologist is sometimes able to verify his conclusion by the 
proofs which have been preserved in books and inscriptions, and he 
regards this as evidence that, in other cases where no such record is 
preserved, his results are equally trustworthy. 

Occasionally the student of comparative anatomy, like the student 
of comparative grammar, finds a fossil form which unites in itself the 
characteristics of several widely separated descendants, and he is thus 
enabled to test and to verify the conclusions which he has reached by 
comparative study. 

In this way, through the study of details too numerous and minute 
to be described here, it can be shown that the oyster is descended from 
a mollusc which was furnished with locomotor organs and sense organs, 
and which wandered about in search of food, and had altogether a much 
wider and more varied life than that of the oyster. Its gills were very 
simple and were nothing but breathing organs, and the many uses which 
they serve were provided for by distinct organs. 

Very long ago, as we measure time, but quite late in the history of 
the mollusca, as the continental areas were elevated and became covered 
with terrestrial vegetation, and fringed by bays and sounds of brackish 
water, the oyster gradually became modified in such a way as to fit it for 
life in these estuaries. Its locomotor organs and its organs for discover- 
ing and capturing food were gradually lost, as it learned to feed upon the 
microscopic life of the mud-flats. The gills then gradually became modi- 
fied and fitted for maintaining the circulation of water, and for filtering 
out the minute food particles it contains. 

Food is most abundant on the muddy bottom ; but in estuaries this is 
so deep and soft that a locomotor animal would sink and smother in it, 
so the oyster has gradually become converted into a fixture, and has 
learned to fasten itself when young to something firm enough to keep it 
out of the soft mud, but near enough to it to be within easy reach of the 
vast supply of food which it affords. As a fixed animal does not need to 
have the two sides of its body balanced, the fixed oyster has become 
one-sided, and has thus been still better fitted for its peculiar mode of 
life. 

These changes, while they are on the whole advantageous, since they 
enable the oysters to avail themselves of inexhaustible supplies of food, 
are not without disadvantage. Ihe oyster has become so perfectly 
adapted for a life on those hard bodies which occur in the soft mud of 
estuaries, that it cannot live anywhere else, and the young oysters which 
do not find a proper home soon die. In shallow bays and sounds hard 
substances are rare and far apart, and many young oysters must perish 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 291 

from inability to find a proper resting place. To meet this danger the 
oyster's birth-rate has been enormously increased, so that among its 
innumerable descendants some few may be able to find proper homes, 
and may grow up to maturity in their turn. 

THE ARTIFICIAL CULTIVATION OF OYSTERS. 

If the Chesapeake Bay is as rich in food for oysters as we have asserted, 
and if the oyster multiplies at such a very high rate of increase, how 
can our oyster supply be in any danger, or how can there be any need for 
aid from man in order to maintain and develop the oyster-beds? At first 
sight it does not seem possible that an animal which is protected from 
enemies by a strong stony shell, and which is capable of giving rise to 
several million eggs each season, can be in any danger of extermination ; 
and it seems as if the oyster ought to be able to hold its own in the 
struggle for existence, and to increase and multiply in spite of adverse 
circumstances. 

We should rather expect to find the whole bottom of the bay paved 
with oysters ; and for many years, the statement that there is any need for 
measures to prevent the destruction of our natural beds and the total 
extermination of our oysters has been met with ridicule, and it has been 
flatly contradicted by persons whose qualifications for expressing an 
opinion would seem to be very great. 

The history of the oyster-beds of Europe, and of those in many of 
the Northern States, should have been enough to warn us, years ago, of 
the need for the protection and development of our own beds, but our 
people have been too confident of the inexhaustible vitality of our own 
beds to heed the warning. So long as the consumption of oysters was 
restricted to regions in the immediate vicinity of the bay, the number of 
oysters which could be taken from each bed and put upon the market 
each season was so small that it could be furnished without taxing the 
beds; but more than ten years ago, November, 1879, the writer called 
attention to the fact that the perfection of our facilities for packing and 
transporting oysters had produced such a great demand, that the danger 
of destroying our best beds was growing greater every day, and was keep- 
ing pace with the growth of our population and the improvements in 
transportation. For the instruction of those who believe that the supply 
is sufficient for all demands, facts were cited from the history of other 
countries. 

No one who is familiar with the history of the oyster-beds of other 
parts of the world can be surprised at the deterioration of our own beds. 
Everywhere, in France, in Germany, in England, and in all northern coast 
states, history tells the same story. In all waters where oysters are 
found at all they are usually found in abundance, and in all these places 



292 MARYLAND. 

the residents supposed that their natural beds were inexhaustible until 
they suddenly found that they were exhausted. The immense area 
covered by our own beds has enabled them to withstand the attacks of 
the oystermen for a much longer time, but all who are familiar with the 
subject have long been aware that our present system can have only one 
resul t — extermi nation. 

In view of these facts, no one who appreciates the magnitude of the 
oyster industry of the Chesapeake Bay can doubt that the protection of 
our beds is a matter of vital importance, for it is quite clear that we 
cannot trust to the natural fecundity of the oyster. 

It is well known to naturalists that the number of individuals 
which reach maturity in any species of animal or plant does not depend 
on the number which are born. The common tapeworm lays hundreds 
of millions of eggs in a very short time, yet it is comparatively rare. 
The number of children born to each pair of human beings during their 
lifetime of sixty of seventy years can be counted on the fingers, yet man 
is the most abundant of the large mammals. The abundance of a species 
is mainly determined by the external conditions of life, and the number 
of individuals which are born has very little to do with it. 

In the case of the oyster, the adult is well protected against the 
attacks of most of the enemies which are found in our waters, by its 
shell ; and as its food is very abundant and is brought to it in an unfail- 
ing supply by the water, it is pretty sure of a long life after it has 
reached its adult form ; but the life of the young oyster is very preca- 
rious : that of the young American oyster peculiarly so, since it is 
exposed to many enemies and accidents at the time when it is most 
helpless. The oyster of Northern Europe lays from one to two million 
eggs, while our oyster lays about ten times as many ; but the protection 
which is afforded to the young European oyster by the shell of the parent 
more than balances the greater birth-rate of our oyster. 

The most critical time in the life of the American oyster is undoubt- 
edly the time when the egg is discharged into the water to be fertilized, 
for the chance that each egg which floats out into the bay to shift for 
itself will immediately meet with a male cell is very slight, and infinite 
numbers of eggs are lost from this cause. The next period of great 
danger comes as the little embryos begin to swim and crowd to the 
surface of the water. They are so totally defenceless and are so close 
together that a little fish swimming along with open mouth may swal- 
low thousands in a few mouthf uls, and we have found that at this time a 
sudden fall of temperature is fatal to them, and a cold rain may destroy 
millions. As soon as they are safely past this stage and have scattered 
and begin to swim at various depths, their danger from accidents and 
enemies is greatly diminished, and their chance of reaching maturity 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 293 

increases rapidly. Experiments which, we carried on many years ago show 
that there is no difficulty in rearing them up to this point in captivity, 
and that in a very small aquarium millions of them may be safely car- 
ried past the most precarious part of their lives and freed from their 
greatest dangers. 

Although the mortality at their early stages is so excessive, the 
number of young oysters which pass through them in safety without 
artificial help is very great, and if there were no other dangers or uncer- 
tainties there would be no need of measures for their protection. As 
they swim to and fro in the water they are carried to great distances by 
the tides and currents, and they reach all parts of the region of water 
within several miles of the parent bed. In a favorable season, any plant, 
or bush, or piece of driftwood which floats near an oyster-bed becomes 
covered with small oysters, although the nearest bed maybe miles away; 
and the fact that young oysters may be thus collected in any part of our 
bay shows that they are distributed everywhere, and we might expect the 
adults to have an equally general distribution. This is by no means the 
case, and nothing can be farther from the truth than the idea that the 
bottom of the oyster area is uniformly covered with oysters or ever has 
been, although it is quite true that oysters may be reared artificially over 
nearly the whole of it. The idea that it is ouly necessary to throw a 
dredge overboard anywhere in the oyster area, and to drag it along the 
bottom for a short distance in order to bring it up full, is totally 
erroneous. Such a condition of things is quite within the reach of the 
cultivator, but it never exists under natural influences alone. In this 
country, as well as in Europe, the oysters are restricted to particular spots 
called "banks," or "beds," or "rocks," which are as well defined and 
almost as sharply limited as the tracts of woodland in a farming country 
— they are so well marked that they may be laid down on a chart, or they 
may be staked out with buoys; and even in the best dredging grounds 
they occupy such an inconsiderable part of the bottom that no one would 
have much chance of finding oysters by promiscuous dredging, in igno- 
rance of their location. Although the young are distributed every year 
by the tides and currents over all parts of the bottom, the dredge seldom 
brings up even a single oyster outside the limits of the beds, under 
natural conditions. 

The restriction of the oysters to certain points does not depend on 
the supply of food, for this is everywhere abundant, nor to any great 
degree upon the character of the water. It is almost entirely due to the 
nature of the bottom. 

The full-grown oyster is able to live and flourish in soft mud so long as 
it is not buried too deeply for the open edge of the shell to reach above 
the mud and draw a constant supply of water to its gills ; but the oyster 



294 MARYLAND. 

embryo would be ingulfed and smothered at once if it were to fall on 
such a bottom, and in order to have the least chance of survival it must 
find some solid substance upon which to fasten itself, to preserve it from 
sinking in the soft mud, or from being buried under it as it shifts with 
wind and tide. In the deposits which form the soft bottom of sounds 
and estuaries solid bodies of any sort rarely occur; and the so-called 
" rocks " of the Chesapeake are not ledges or reefs, but accumulations of 
oyster shells. 

Examination of a Coast Survey chart of any part of the Chesapeake 
Bay or of any of its tributaries will show that there is usually a mid- 
channel, or line of deep water, where the bottom is generally soft and 
where no oysters are met with, and on each side of this an area where 
the bottom is hard, running from the edge of the channel to the shore. 
This hard strip is the oyster area. It varies in width from a few yards 
to several miles, and the depth of the water varies upon it from a few 
feet to five or six fathoms, or even more. But there is usually a sudden 
fall at the edge of the channel, where the oysters stop, and we pass to 
soft bottom. The oyster bottom is pretty continuous, except opposite 
the mouth of a tributary, where it is cut across by a deep, muddy channel. 
The solid oyster rocks are usually situated along the outer edge of this 
plateau, although in many cases they are found over its whole width 
nearly up to low-tide mark, or beyond. As we pass south along the bays 
and sounds of Virginia and North Carolina, we find that the hard borders 
of the channel come nearer and nearer to the surface, until in the lower 
part of North Carolina there is on each side of the Channel a wide strip 
of hard bottom, which is bare at low tide and covered with oysters up to 
high-water mark, although the oysters are most abundant and largest at 
edge of the deep water, where they form a well-defined reef. In our 
own waters there is usually a strip along the shore where no oysters are 
found, as the depth of water is not great enough to protect them in 
winter. The whole of the hard belt is not uniformly covered with 
oysters, but it is divided up into separate oyster rocks, between which 
comparatively few can be found. 

The boundaries of a natural rock which has not been changed by 
dredging are usually well defined, and few oysters are to be found beyond 
its limits. The oysters are crowded together so closely that they cannot 
Jie flat, but grow vertically upwards, side by side. They are long and 
narrow, are fastened together in clusters, and^are known as " coon" oysters. 

When such a bed is carefully examined it will be found that most of 
the rock is made up of empty shells ; and a little examination will show 
that the crowding is so great that the growth of one oyster prevents 
adjacent ones from opening their shells, and thus crowds them out and 
exterminates them. Examination shows, too, that nearly every one of 



THE OYSTER 



PLATE III. 




Tig.l. 




A.HnEnSCn LithnctLusticBaltrainri 



YOUNG OYSTERS ATTACHED TO A SHOE AND A BOULDER. 



THE OYSTER AND -THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 295 

the living oysters is fastened to the open or free end of a dead shell 
which has thus been crowded to death ; and it is not at all unusual to 
find a pile of five or six shells thus united, showing' that number two had 
fastened, when small, to the open end of number one, thus raising itself 
a little above the crowd. After number one was killed number two 
continued to grow, and number three fastened itself to its shell, and so 
on. Usually the oysters upon such a bed are small, but in some places 
shells twelve or fourteen inches long are met with. The most significant 
characteristic of a bed of this kind is the sharpness of its boundaries. 
In regions where the oysters are never disturbed by man it is not unusual 
to find a hard bottom, which extends along the edge of the shore for 
miles, and is divided up into a number of oyster rocks, where the oysters 
are so thick that most of them are crowded out and die long before they 
are full-grown, and between these beds are areas where not a single 
oyster can be found. The intervening area is perfectly adapted for the 
oyster, and when a few bushels of shells are scattered upon it they are 
soon covered with young, and in a year or two a, new oyster rock is estab- 
lished upon them, but when they are left to themselves the rocks remain 
sharply defined. What is the reason for this sharp limitation of a natural 
bed? Those who know the oyster only in its adult condition may believe 
that it is due to the absence of power of locomotion, and may hold that 
the young oysters grew up among the old ones, just as young oak trees 
grow up where the acorns fall from the branches. This cannot be the 
true explanation, for the young oysters are swimming animals, and they 
are discharged into the water in countless numbers, to be swept away to 
great distances by the currents. As they are too small to be seen at this 
time without a microscope, it is impossible to trace their wanderings 
directly, but is possible to show indirectly that they are carried to great 
distances, and that the water for miles around the natural bed is full of 
them. They serve as food for other marine animals, and when the 
contents of the stomachs of these animals are carefully examined with 
a microscope, the shells of the little oysters are often found in abund- 
ance. While examining the contents of the stomach of lingula in this 
way we have found hundreds of the shells of the young oysters in the 
swimming stage of growth, although the specimens of lingula were 
captured several miles from the nearest oyster-bed. As lingula is a fixed 
animal the oysters must have been brought to the spot where the speci- 
mens were found ; and as lingula has no means of capturing its food, and 
subsists upon what is swept within its reach by the water, the presence 
of so many inside its stomach shows that the water must have contained 
great numbers of them. 

It is clear, then, that the sharp limitation of the area of a natural 
oyster-bed is not due to the absence in the young of the power to reach 



296 MARYLAND. 

distant points. There is another proof of this, which is familiar to all 
oystermen — the possibility of establishing new beds without trans- 
planting any oysters. 

"We once observed an illustration of this. On part of a large mud-flat 
which was bare at low tide there were no oysters, although there was a 
natural bed upon the same flats, about half a mile away. 

A wharf was built from high-tide mark across the flat out to the 
edge of the channel, and the shells of all the oysters used in the house 
were thrown on to the mud alongside the wharf. In the third summer 
the flat in the vicinity of the wharf had become converted into an oyster- 
bed, with a few medium-sized oysters and very great numbers of young, 
and the bottom, which had been rather soft, had become quite hard ; in 
fact, the spot presented all the characteristics of a natural bed. Changes 
of this sort are a matter of familiar experience, and it is plain that 
something else besides the absence in the oyster of locomotor power 
determines the size and position of a bed. 

Now what is this something else ? 

If the planting of dead shells will build up a new bed, may we not 
conclude that a natural bed tends to retain its position and size because 
the shells are there ? 

This conclusion may not seem to be very important, but we hope to 
show that it is really of fundamental importance, and is essential to a 
correct conception of the oyster problem. 

"Why should the presence of shells, M^hich are dead and have no 
power to multiply, have anything to do with the perpetuation of a bed ? 

"We have already called attention to the fact that oysters are found 
on the. hard bottom on each side of the channel, while they are not 
found in the soft mud of the channel itself, and it may at first seem as if 
there were some direct connection between a hard bottom and the 
presence of oysters, but the fact that no oysters are found upon the hard, 
firm sand of the ocean beach shows that this is not the case. As a matter 
of fact, they thrive best upon a soft bottom. They feed upon the floating 
organic matter which is brought to them by the water, and this food is 
most abundant where the water flows in a strong current over soft organic 
mud. When the bottom is hard there is little food, and this little is not 
favorably placed for diffusion by the water, while the water which flows 
over soft mud is rich in food. 

The young oysters which settle upon or near a soft bottom are 
therefore most favorably placed for procuring food, but the young oyster 
is very small — so small that a layer of mud as deep as the thickness of a 
sheet of paper would smother and destroy it. Hence the young oysters 
have the habit of fastening themselves to solid bodies, such as shells, 



THE OYSTER 



PLATE IV 




YOUNG OYSTERS FASTENED TO SOLID BODIES. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 297 

rocks or piles, or floating bushes, and they are thus enabled to profit by 
the soft bottoms without danger. 

Owing to the peculiar shape of an oyster shell, some portions usually 
project above the mud long after most of it is buried, and its rough 
surface furnishes an excellent basis for attachment. It forms one of the 
very best supports for the young, and a little swimming oyster is 
especially fortunate if it finds a clean shell to adhere to when it is ready 
to settle down for life. Then, too, the decaying and crumbling shells are 
gradually dissolved in the sea water, and thus furnish the lime which 
the growing oyster needs to build up its own shell. As long as the shell 
is soft and thin, the danger from enemies is very great, and this danger 
is greatly diminished as soon as the shell becomes thick enough to resist 
attack. It is, therefore, very necessary that the shell should be built up 
as rapidly as possible; and an abundant supply of food in general will be 
of no advantage unless the supply of lime is great enough for the growth 
of the shell to keep pace with the growth of the body. All sea water 
contains lime in solution, but the percentage is, of course, greatest near 
the sources of supply. It is well known that on coral reefs, which are 
entirely made of lime, all kinds of shelled molluscs flourish in unusual 
abundance, and have very strong and massive shells ; and our common 
land and fresh- water snails are much larger and more abundant in a 
limestone region than in one where the supply of lime is scanty. In 
such regions it is not unusual to find the snails gathered around old 
decaying bones, to which they have resorted to obtain a supply of lime 
for their shells. 

From all these causes combined it results that a young oyster which 
settles upon a natural oyster-bed has a much better chance of survival 
than one which settles anywhere else ; and a natural bed thus tends to 
perpetuate itself and to persist as a definite, well-defined area; but there 
is still another reason. As the flood-tide rushes up the channels it stirs 
up the fine mud which has been deposited in the deep water. The mud 
is swept up on to the shallows along the shore, and if these are level, 
much of the sediment settles there. If, however, the flat is covered by 
groups of oysters, the ebbing tide does not flow off in an even sheet, but 
is broken up into thousands of small channels, through which the 
sediment flows down, to be swept out to sea. 

The oyster-bed thus tends to keep itself clean ; and for these various 
reasons it follows that the more firmly established an oyster-bed is, the 
better is its chance of perpetuation, since the young spat finds more 
favorable conditions where there are oysters, or at least shells, already, 
than it finds anywhere else. 

Now, what is the practical importance of this description of a 
natural bed? 



298 MARYLAND. 

It is this : Since a natural bed tends to remain permanent, because 
of the presence of oyster shells, the shelling of bottoms where there are 
no oysters furnishes us with a means for establishing new beds or for 
increasing the area of the old ones. 

The oyster dredgers state, with perfect truth, that by breaking up 
the crowded clusters of oysters and by scattering the shells, the use of 
the dredge tends to enlarge the oyster-beds. The sketch which we have 
just given shows the truth of this assertion; but this is a very rough and 
crude way of accomplishing this end, and we shall now give a description 
of the means which have been employed in different places to accom- 
plish the same result more efficiently and methodically. 

Within recent years, much attention has been given to the possi- 
bility of increasing the supply of oysters by artificial means. 

The oyster is well known to be enormously prolific, a single one 
giving birth in one season to many million young, and it is obvious that 
the annual supply would be enormously increased if all the young which 
are born could be reared to maturity. 

Unfortunately, this is not the case, and under a state of nature mil- 
lions of oysters are born for each one which grows to maturity. Mobius 
has shown that in Europe each oyster which is born has only one chance 
in one million one hundred and forty-five thousand of reaching maturity ; 
we have shown that the chances of each American oyster are very much 
less. 

One of the most important discoveries of the last fifty years is, that 
it is quite possible to save many of these oysters by artificial means; 
and experiments which have been carried on in France, as well as in 
many parts of our own country, prove that this can be done, successfully 
and economically, on a very large scale. 

Soon after it is born the young oyster fastens itself to some solid 
body. It is at first so small that it is smothered and killed at once if it 
falls upon a muddy or slimy bottom, and its only chance for life is in 
the discovery of some perfectly clean, hard body upon which to fasten. 
Many young oysters are killed by accidents or enemies after they have 
fastened themselves, but by far the greater number perish through 
failure to find proper places for attachment ; and the whole secret of 
oyster culture is to furnish proper bodies for the attachment of the 
young. 

Many methods of doing this have been devised and employed, and 
the possibility of in this way increasing the area and value of the 
natural beds, and of building up new beds or restoring old ones, has been 
proved. 

At present no spat-collector seems to be better adapted for use in our 
waters upon hard bottoms than oyster shells, and they are now the 
cheapest collectors that can be used. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 299 

In order to serve this purpose the shells must be perfectly clean; 
and as the old dead shells, which have lain for a long time upon the 
oyster-beds are torn to pieces by the boring sponge, and covered with 
mud and slime, hydrioids, sea-weed and sponges, they are much less 
effective than those which are placed in the water just before the spawn- 
ing season. 

In regions where there is no danger from frost, or where the young 
growth is to be planted in deeper water before winter, the shells may be 
deposited at or even above low-water mark, and in the sounds of North 
Carolina, oysters thrive even at high-tide mark. The shells should be 
deposited in the early summer — in June, July and August — in localities 
where there is enough current to sweep the swimming young past them. 
A hard bottom is to be preferred, but this method may be employed 
with great advantage upon any soft bottoms which are near the surface. 
In this case the shells should not be uniformly distributed, but placed in 
piles or ridges. If these ridges are properly arranged with reference to 
the direction of the current, they will produce secondary currents, and 
will thus cause the soft mud to flow off between them. In this way any 
bottom which is bare or nearly bare at low tide, and which is exposed to 
the winds and waves, may in time be swept nearly clear of mud. Each 
time the tide comes in the mud is stirred up and suspended in the water, 
and as the tide ebbs this suspended matter is swept into the channels 
between the obstructions and is carried away. Shells are very effective 
as spat collectors. Shell wharves built Out into deep water, so as to 
catch and turn the passing current, are often found to be covered with 
young oysters at all stages of growth and in good condition for planting. 

The month of June is usually the best time for shelling the bottom. 
The early part of the month for warm seasons and shallow water, and 
the end of the month for cold springs, or for deep water. The quantity 
of shells varies according to circumstances, but in most cases 1,000 
bushels to the acre are not too many. 

In shallow waters, where the shells are uncovered at low tide, they 
maybe examined, to pick out for distribution upon the planting grounds, 
those which have young oysters upon them ; but in deeper waters the 
shells must be picked up with tongs or dredges, or they may be strung 
upon wires and sunk in deep water on suitable frames. 

The chief objection to the use of shells is that the method is a 
wasteful one. It is not unusual for fifty or a hundred young oysters to 
fasten upon one shell, and as the shells are too strong to be broken 
without injuring the young oysters, these cannot be detached, and most 
of them are soon crowded out and killed by the growth of the others. 
The use of tiles, has therefore, been introduced in France to avoid this 
loss. 



300 MABYLAND. 

As tiles can be employed without difficulty in deep water, they are 
well adapted for use in our bay. Those whicb are used in France are 
much like a common drain-pipe sawed in two longitudinally. They 
cannot be obtained in our markets at present, although they could be 
made very cheaply if there were any demand for them. Each tile is 
about eighteen inches or two feet long, six or eight inches wide, concave 
on one side and convex on the other. The shape of the tile is impor- 
tant, as nearly all the oysters fasten themselves upon the concave 
surface. They adhere so firmly that it is difficult to detach them without 
injury, and to avoid this the French oyster-breeders coat the tiles with a 
thin whitewash, which can be scaled off with the young oysters when 
these are large enough to be distributed upon the planting grounds. 

The aim of all methods of oyster culture is to increase the number of 
oysters, by furnishing proper substances for collecting the swimming 
embryos at the time when they are ready to attach themselves. In our 
waters, clean oyster shells are, in nearly all cases, the best substance to 
use for the purpose, and there is hardly a spot anywhere in the bay which 
might not be converted into an oyster-bed by this simple method of 
cultivation, which has been shown, in all parts of the world where it has 
been tried, to yield a very great return for the capital and labor employed. 

There are few parts of the world which offer advantages for the 
prosecution of this industry equal to those afforded by the bay, and there 
is no other place where these advantages are presented on such a great 
area of bottom. Our oyster grounds, of course, vary in value, according 
to local conditions, and oyster culture is much more easy and profitable 
in some places than in others; but, in course of time, even the soft, 
muddy bottoms of the deepest channels may be brought under cultivation, 
and there is scarcely a foot of the bottom where oysters cannot be reared. 
The number of oysters which the bay might be made to furnish annually 
is almost too great for computation, but we may very safely assert that 
it is greater than the total number which have been taken from our 
waters in the past. 

( All that is needed to make this great source of wealth available to 
our people, is permission to engage in oyster culture. When the citizens 
of Maryland demand the right to enter into this industry, and to reclaim 
their property, which is now going to waste, a new era of prosperity will 
be introduced, and the oyster area will be developed with great rapidity.}) 

We have shown that, upon undredged natural beds, solid substances 
become so thickly covered with young oysters that they have no room to 
grow, so that most of them are soon crowded out and killed. 

All localities are not equally favorable for the collection of spat, and 
in the best places the amount which can be collected each season is very 
much greater than the amount which is needed for stocking the bottom. 



THE OYSTER 



PLATE V" 




Ha 



Sfe;«-^^ 






ri^.i. 




TILES COVERED WITH YOUNG OYSTERS. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 301 

This excess can be profitably used as " seed " for stocking bottoms in 
shallow, landlocked bays, rivers, and other places which are less fitted 
for the collection of spat. While oyster-planting, as the sowing of these 
" seed " oysters is called, does not result in the production of new oysters, 
it is a very profitable industry, and it admits of great development. 

The profits are smaller and the labor greater than those of oyster 
culture in deep water, but oyster-planting requires little capital, and the 
shores of the bay abound in proper spots for the prosecution of this 
industry, the importance of which has long been recognized by our people. 

There are many bottoms where there are no natural oysters, simply 
because there is nothing upon the ground for the spat to catch upon, or 
because they are not places to which the spat is carried ; and there are 
other bottoms which are so soft that a very young and small oyster would 
be buried in the mud and killed, although larger ones are able to live and 
thrive in the mud. In all these places oyster-planting may be carried on 
with profit, for while it is true that the total number of oysters which 
are born is not increased by planting, the number which reach maturity 
is greatly increased; for the young oysters fasten themselves so close 
together and in such great numbers that the growth of one involves, under 
natural conditions, the crowding out and destruction of hundreds of 
others, which might have been saved by scattering them over unoccupied 
ground. 

Planting also adds very greatly to the value of oysters, as they grow 
more rapidly and are of better quality when thus scattered than they are 
upon the natural beds. The culture of oysters in the deeper waters of the 
bay, and the establishment of new oyster-beds by collecting the floating 
spat upon clean shells and other proper substances, is very much more 
important than the encouragement of oyster-planting ; but it is easy to 
see the very great advantages which we should derive from a thorough 
system of planting. Deep-water cultivation cannot be undertaken to 
advantage on a small scale, and it requires both capital and expensive 
appliances; but oyster-planting can be carried on without any great 
expense, and as success in it depends to a great degree upon constant, 
intelligent supervision, small cultivators will always have the advantage 
of those who attempt more extensive operations. 

The most serious obstacle to the development of a great planting 
industry in Maryland is the absence of all respect for private property 
in oysters. In enclosed or artificial ponds oysters would be much more 
safe from theft than in open water. Under our present system oysters 
are often sacrificed or sold at unremunerative prices, because there is no 
way to keep them in good condition until they can be sold to advantage. 
A system of ponds after the French pattern, for the temporary storage 
of oysters, would be a very profitable piece of property in the vicinity 



302 MARYLAND. 

of any large centre of the packing business; and the experience of the 
French planters shows that the construction of storage ponds where the 
oysters may be kept in good order, and where they will continue to grow 
and to increase in value, is a very simple matter. 

This industry has also the great advantage that it does not need 
legislative protection. It can be put into practice at once by any one 
who owns land which is suitable for the purpose ; and our State contains 
hundreds of acres of low, marshy land which is now private property, 
although it is of little or no value to its owners. Small streams and 
inlets which are not navigable, and which lie within the limits of private 
land, may be converted into ponds like the French claires at very slight 
expense; and with no more labor than what is required for ordinary 
agriculture they could be made much more profitable than the best 
farming land. 

THE OYSTER. INDUSTRY. 

One-fifth of the State of Maryland is covered by the waters of the 
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. This bay is the largest in the 
United States ; and, running from north to south, it divides Maryland 
into an eastern and a western portion. On the one side the waters of the 
bay encroach on the land, breaking the " Eastern Shore " up into many 
bays, creeks and inlets ; while the " Western Shore " makes a compara- 
tively straight line on the map. 

The Mary lander, however, does not regret the great tract of land 
thus stolen from him by the waters, but recognizes in it his most 
valuable inheritance. The waters covering this extensive area of 2,300 
square miles bear on their surface, and contain hidden in their depths a 
great store of good food, which forms a very important addition to the 
list of land products. Ducks, geese and other birds are shot along the 
shores; while the many varieties of fish, the crabs, the terrapins and the 
oysters offer conclusive proof as to the richness of life in the bay itself. 

Of all the inhabitants of the Chesapeake, the oyster is undoubtedly 
the most valuable to the State. On either side of the deep channel run- 
ning the length of the bay, and at certain points in this channel there 
are to be found, with areas varying much in size, what are known as 
oyster " banks," " beds," or " rocks." These beds, as a rule, lie below low 
water mark, in water less than forty feet deep. Further out in the 
channel the bottom is usually too soft and muddy for oysters, hence they 
appropriate the firmer ground of the shallows. In the bays, creeks and 
river mouths, where the water varies in depth from two or three to thirty 
feet, large beds have become established ; while in the bay proper still 
larger beds have arisen. The bed extending along the shore of Anne 
Arundel county has been estimated to cover over twenty-eight square 



THE OYSTER 



.-PLATE VI. 




THE OYSTER AND THE OTSTER INDUSTRY. 303 

miles. Besides this great bed there are at least half a dozen, each of 
half the size ; while many others cover areas varying from two hundred 
to ten or twelve acres. The total area occupied by oyster beds has been 
estimated to be about one hundred and ninety-three square miles. 

Long before white men came to America the Indians knew of 
oysters and valued them highly. Tribes living along shore near the 
beds depended largely on the oyster for their food supply. At certain 
times during the year large parties were accustomed to collect, and after 
gathering enough oysters to hold high carnival. The same practice was 
common to tribes living on clams and other shell-fish, and our more 
modern clam-bake is simply a survival of this old Indian custom. All 
along the coast there are at certain points huge piles of shells now over- 
grown with grass, which were heaped up at these annual feasts. The 
Indians got their oysters by wading out and picking up those near the 
shore, or by diving in deep water for them. When the white man came 
he soon introduced more efficient methods. Tongs, and later, dredges, 
were invented, and with the aid of these devices large numbers of 
oysters could be obtained in a short time. At first, and for a long time, 
the oyster trade was of very little importance. People living near 
natural beds easily obtained all they needed for home use ; but of course 
in towns there early grew up a distinct class of oystermen, who made a 
business of supplying consumers with oysters in the shell. As towns 
sprang up along the Chesapeake, and as Baltimore became larger, the 
demand for oysters increased, and the class of men who depended on the 
oyster trade for a living grew larger and larger. During the early part 
of the present century the natural beds of the more northern States 
became exhausted by overworking, and a new phase of the industry 
arose. Men came from Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New 
Jersey and Delaware to the Chesapeake and bought young oysters to 
transplant to beds prepared for them. These transplanted oysters throve 
in their new homes and found a ready market, and in this way the 
Chesapeake became a source of supply for the markets of the States just 
mentioned. About 1834 a Connecticut man established in Baltimore the 
first packing-house. Oysters were brought up from down the bay and 
packed raw, to be sent as far as Pittsburg in wagons. This branch 
of the business received a great impetus as the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad extended further and further west. It has steadily increased 
up to the present time. Alongside of the packing trade there arose an 
important industry in the canning and exportation of steamed oysters, 
which to-day furnishes hundreds of inland places with a supply of this 
most delicious of all mollusks. The development of these various 
phases of the oyster industry, the increased facilities for transportation, 
and the steady demand have made the immense natural beds of the 



304 MARYLAND. 

Chesapeake the very centre of the oyster world. While beds in other 
waters have given way before the inroads of man, those of the Chesa- 
peake, principally on account of their size and comparative immunity 
from natural enemies, still hold out, and even support foreign beds with 
seed oysters. 

There are in Maryland waters two principal methods of obtaining 
oysters from the beds. The first method, known as tonging, is confined 
to beds in shallow water; while the second, that of dredging — called by 
the oystermen "drudging" — is used principally in deep water. Most of 
the boats used in tonging are small, only one, two, or three men being 
needed to man a boat. 

The Chesapeake canoe is the most characteristic tonging boat. This 
is a peculiar model, formed from three dug-out logs joined together. 
It is pointed at both ends, has a round bottom, no deck, and sails with 
one or two "leg-of-mutton" sails and generally a jib. It is quite a sea- 
worthy boat, from eighteen to twenty-five feet long, and will stand a 
good deal of rough handling. Another very common tonging boat is the 
batteau, which is flat-bottomed, built of boards, and usually sails with 
one sail and a jib. The batteau is of about the same size as the canoe, 
and these two, with one other kind, the "bug-eye"— sometimes called 
"buck-eye" — make up a tonging fleet. There are various interpretations 
of the name of this latter craft, of which, perhaps, that given by one of 
the officers of the oyster navy may be interesting. He maintains that the 
term arose from the ease with which the boat is handled; some such 
phase as " turned in a bug's eye," being gradually abbreviated to the 
term " bug-eye." The bug-eye is a larger boat than the canoe, being 
from twenty-five to sixty feet long, and is built of planks instead of 
being dug out of logs. It is sharp at both ends, but, unlike a canoe, is 
decked over. While a canoe carries two or at most three men, the 
bug-eye being so much larger may carry five or six, and thus accomplish 
more work. Across a tonging boat is placed a platform to be used in 
culling. Most canoes and batteaux carry two pairs of tongs, while the 
bug-eyes carry twice as many. 

A pair of oyster tongs is essentially a pair of very heavily toothed 
rakes, attached to long wooden handles so pivoted that when they are 
brought together the teeth bite into each other. Above the teeth — ■ 
of which there are eight or ten — there is an iron basket-work arrange- 
ment to hold what the teeth tear off. The handles of tongs vary in length 
from seven to twenty-two feet, according to the depth of water in which 
they are used. No oysters under two and a half inches long are lawfully 
marketable ; hence the necesssity of " culling," which consists in sepa- 
rating the larger oysters from undersized ones and empty shells which 
come up in the tongs. The small oysters are returned to the water. 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 305 

Watcliing a couple of men tonging in a canoe, you will see that they 
divide the labor between them, one tonging while the other culls. The 
tonger, seizing the handles of his tongs, allows the heavy irons to slip 
down into the water until the handles stand up vertically before him. 
Now by spreading the handles apart he opens the teeth, and after 
closing and opening them again several times, until he feels that he has 
a good hold on a bunch of oysters, he slowly raises the tongs and dumps 
the catch on the culling-board. As soon as the board is full, the culler 
picks up his hammer and begins rapidly to break up the clusters of 
oysters, throwing the small ones overboard and the large ones into the 
boat. After a time tonger and culler change places. When there are 
three men in the boat, two tong while the third culls until the others 
give him more oysters than he can handle, when one of the tongers 
helps him. 

A fleet of tongers at work is a very pretty and quite a lively sight. 
Almost any clear day during the winter, if it be not too windy, tongers 
may be seen busy from nine o'clock in the morning until five in the 
evening. 

The little boats are anchored over the bed for acres around, bobbing 
up and down on the waves, their sails down and their crews busily 
engaged with the tongs. The splash of the tongs, the chipping of the 
culler's hammer, an occasional call from boat to boat, or a snatch of a 
song, with the active motions of the men, combine to form a cheerful 
and lively scene. But there is a dark side to the picture. The freezing 
water splashed up by the tongs, the handling of cold, wet oysters, the 
severe muscular exertion of tonging and culling, all tend to make this 
occupation one of great hardship. Only the hardiest can stand such a 
rough life, and it has been said that "the death rate among oystermen as 
compared with other trades is very high;" "the injury to health from 
exposure is such that few reach old age." The risks and hardships 
involved in this occupation have a very bad influence on the men as a 
whole. Most of them have no higher aim than to get through the 
winter months, during which tonging is allowed, with as little work as 
possible. Being forced to stay in when the weather is bad, they take 
holiday at all other times they can. The necessity of earning money 
enough to live on is the only thing that keeps these people at work. 
Reckless of the future, they only live for the moment, and most tongers 
spend their earnings as soon as they get them. Hence they are proverb- 
ially poor. Some of the men, however, work with great regularity, and 
make a good living. During the summer months the law forbids oyster- 
ing, and then many of the tongers become fishermen, others catch crabs, 
while some work on farms. Many own their own little houses, and 
20 



306 MARYLAND. 

during the off months do no work except the little required to keep their 
gardens cultivated. 

Before considering dredging, a method of tonging occasionally used 
should be mentioned — the taking of oysters with the "nippers." 
" Nippers " are very much simplified tongs. They are merely two small 
rakes with four or five long teeth each, fitted to handles which work 
like those of the tongs. This instrument is used in calm water, where 
the man in the boat can see the largest oysters on the bottom, and pick 
them up one by one. The method is slow and difficult, and is not much 
used. 

The dredgers may be divided into two main classes; "dredgers" 
proper, and "scrapers;" the only difference between the two being in the 
size of the boats and dredges used. There is no special dredging -vessel, 
just as there is no special form of tonging boat. Any sloop or schooner 
from five to seventy-five tons may be rigged up as a dredger. The 
"oyster pungy," however, is perhaps peculiar, and best adapted to the 
needs of the dredger. 

This is a schooner of about ten tons, with a deep keel, steep sides, 
and a flush deck. The last point is an advantage to the dredger, for 
when a boat with a bulwark is used, this must be cut away on either 
side, at the place where the dredge comes up. Fixed firmly to the deck 
in this position there is an iron windlass, working by a crank, attached 
to which is a long rope with the dredge fastened to the end. The dredge 
is a heavy iron framework, to which is hung a bag made of iron rings. 
Across the frame, at the mouth of the bag, there is a strong blade. In 
the larger dredges this blade bears heavy teeth, while in smaller ones, 
known as " scrapers," the teeth are absent, a sharp edge taking their 
place. 

Scraping is done with the smaller boats of this class; generally 
under ten tons, carrying about five men, and confining their operations to 
comparatively shallow water. These boats seldom make any extended 
trips, usually returning to port after a day's work. The larger schooners 
on the other hand carry twice as many men, and when starting off for a 
trip take enough provisions for several days. 

Dredging, like tonging, is anything but a pleasant, easy occupation ; 
and the crew, white and colored, crowded in a small cabin reeking with 
smoke, living on the coarsest fare, and exposed to rain and snow, cold 
and ice, have a very hard time of it. When they reach the beds in deep 
water they drop the dredge overboard, and at the same time let the rope 
run out behind by which the big iron bag is dragged along over the bed. 
As the teeth of the blade across the mouth of the dredge catch the 
oyster-shells, they tear off whole bunches and the bag is soon full. 
After a time the vessel comes up somewhat into the wind, and the men 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 307 

wind up the rope on the windlass, bringing the dredge alongside, and 
gradually the heavy load is pulled up on deck and dumped. Since the 
dredge, besides its own weight, holds one and a-half to two and a-half 
bushels of oysters, this, as may well be imagined, is no light task, but a 
most back-breaking operation. As soon as the load is dumped all hands 
" cull off," the catch being thrown into the hold. Soon the dredges are 
overboard again, and the schooner is off on another tack. The vessel 
continues in this way tacking back and forth for the rest of the day, 
always returning to the bed if carried beyond. The present laws require 
the catch to be culled over the bed where caught, as the undergrown 
oysters would soon be smothered if they should fall into the mud sur- 
rounding the bed. Dredgers work in fleets of from two or three sail to 
as many as sixty or more, and have their favorite beds; so that, in 
sailing down the bay in the season, one sees fleets of such boats at 
intervals along the shore from Baltimore to Crisfield. As with the 
tongers, only the toughest and hardiest of men dare risk the hardships 
of this life, which is even more laborious and trying than that of the 
tongers. The past winter has furnished us with many examples of this. 
Just after Christmas all the coves, bays, rivers and creeks were frozen 
over with a covering of from three to four inches of ice, and hundreds 
of tongers were held fast in port; most of the scrapers were also shut 
off from work, the dredgers being the only class able to do much work, 
because their ground lay in deep water. There was much suffering 
among the tongers and scrapers from lack of employment at their busiest 
season. The dredgers, though not prevented from work, did not fare 
much better. Ropes, decks, ironwork, and the clothes of the men were 
covered with frozen spray, and the usually hard work was rendered many 
times harder and more dangerous. In good weather, when the boats are 
loaded, they can often take advantage of a fair breeze and make port, 
which is Baltimore for most of them, in two or three days. During 
January of this winter, however, in addition to all the usual hindrances 
and hardships, the loaded boats were compelled to pay high prices — as 
much as one hundred dollars a day — for a tow through the fields of ice, 
which blocked the channel, and there was great risk that the cargo 
would freeze in the hold. 

Between the tongers and dredgers there is a long-standing feud, 
causing the State no little trouble. The tongers claim the beds in 
shallow water for themselves, to the exclusion of the dredgers, who 
object to any such restriction, and accordingly whenever they can 
outwit the State police force they run over into the tongers' territory. 
Within a comparatively recent period it was no unusual tiling to see two 
or three hundred dredgers at once violating the State's laws. Every 
captain had one or more repeating rifles, and was a veritable pirate, with 



308 MARYLAND. 

a crew completely under control and ready to face the officers of the law. 
Several severe engagements took place, in which the police were treated 
very roughly. At present there is little disturbance among the oyster- 
men, hut occasional outbreaks show clearly the need of more efficient 
control of a class of men who do not hesitate to defy the law and 
consider themselves the judges of their own rights. It is only by 
constant vigilance that the oyster navy, commissioned by the State in 
1868, manages to keep things comparatively quiet. The oyster navy 
consists of fifteen boats — two steamers, each carrying a small cannon and 
twelve repeating rifles, and thirteen sail, likewise well armed. The 
sailboats are stationed all along the shores of the bay, each having its 
particular beat, while the two steamers, besides keeping these local boats 
to their duty, have important general work of their own. They must 
enforce the culling laws, examine licenses — for each Maryland dredger or 
scraper is numbered, and wi thout the proper license none may work — 
keep all foreign vessels off Maryland grounds, prevent dredgers from 
encroaching on tongers, and see to it that the crews of dredging boats 
are not abused by their captains. This last duty is one made neces- 
sary by the brutal character of many of the captains, and by the 
great ignorance and consequent servility of the crews. Besides these 
unpleasant duties, however, the navy does much in a more direct way to 
ameliorate the condition of the oystermen. During the cold weather, 
when dredgers are often kept out of port by the ice, or prevented by the 
same reason from going to work, the steamers of the navy break a way 
for them and tow them through the ice. Destitute oystermen are also 
sure to find a friend in the navy, and thus in many ways this force, 
primarily intended to enforce the laws, exerts a kindly, fostering 
influence. Such an influence, as it gains in strength, will make the navy 
more efficient and more influential in promoting a better spirit in the 
oystermen. 

When an oyster boat is loaded, she makes all haste to port, and there 
sells out to some packing establishment, canning house or commission 
merchant. Most of the oysters taken are brought directly to Baltimore, 
but a large number are sold further down the bay at the various towns 
along the shores. Approaching an oyster town from the water, one is 
immediately struck with the immense size of the shell heaps near the 
wharves, and the peculiar long, low, wooden buildings, running out over 
the water, with a fleet of sailboats near by. The number of oyster shells 
in such a town is prodigious ; they are seen everywhere, and there are 
two or three places, like Crisfield, built on a foundation of shells. 

In the winter months, during the oyster season, a visit to such a place 
is very interesting; especially if , as was the case this last winter, the ice 
has imprisoned three or four hundred tongers, dredgers and scrapers along 



THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 309 

the wharves. Unless the freeze is a long one, though the fleet is laid up, 
the packing houses can work without interruption, for they always keep 
a supply of oysters on hand. The packing establishment is a collection 
of low, wooden houses, built at the water's edge, so that the boats may 
unload easily. On one side is placed a large wooden shed for receiving 
the oysters as the boats bring them in. This shed opens into a long, low 
room, where the oysters are removed from their shells by the process 
known as " shucking," and passed on into the packing-house. The oysters 
are raised from the boat's hold by horse-power, and wheeled in barrows 
to the storage shed, where great piles of oysters — 1,200 to 4,000 bushels — 
are heaped up to serve as a supply for the next room. The shucking 
room is the most interesting part of the whole establishment. From 
end to end run two, three or four rows of tables, with broad aisles 
between. At one side of the room is a stove, and at one end is a window, 
opening into the packing-house. Usually the rooms are well lighted by 
numerous large windows, and are quite comfortable places on a cold day. 
The wooden tables are long, heavy affairs, and the shuckers stand in lines 
in front of them, each in a separate stall, with a pile of oysters on the 
table to the left, while a bucket is placed on the right, and on the floor a 
pile of oyster shells. 

Men and women, boys and girls work side by side, standing in their 
stalls all day long, and, as a rule, working pretty steadily, often under 
the eye of an overseer. The process of "shucking" is extremely inter- 
esting to watch, but very difficult to imitate without much practice. 
There are two methods used in shucking; one with the hammer and 
knife, while with the other only the knife is used. In this latter process, 
known as "stabbing," the shucker picks up an oyster with his left hand* 
deftly inserts a thin-bladed knife between the shells, then with a turn of 
the wrist and a twist of his knife he lands the oyster in the bucket on 
his right, and throws the shells down on the floor beside him. The 
whole operation is so quickly yet so accurately done that the observer is 
confused and mystified. It is only after close watching that one sees in 
these apparently careless motions a series of distinct separate acts, so 
nicely co-ordinated, that a good shucker works with the precision of a 
machine. In the right hand is held the knife with a thin, pliant blade, 
while on the other hand there is usually worn a padded glove with the 
fingers cut off. An oyster is seized and held down on the table by the 
left hand, with the broad end, popularly known as the mouth, directed to 
the right. Next the knife-blade is skillfully slipped between the shells, 
and with one quick motion the oyster is cut off from the lower shell. 
The left hand now picks up the upper shell with the oyster attached, at 
the same time turning it over. This motion is almost simultaneous with 
the last, which separates the oyster from the lower valve, a turn of the 



310 MARYLAND. 

left wrist helping the knife and bringing the oyster uppermost at the same 
time. The knife is now caught so as to leave the right forefinger free, 
and as the blade slips, in the last motion, under the oyster, the forefinger 
is laid upon it to hold it to the blade. Finally, by almost a single motion, 
the oyster is tossed into the bucket from the knife, while the left hand 
throws the shell to the floor. In this way most workers open about 
twenty oysters a minute, and soon wear a groove in the table, where they 
hold the rough shell in the first motion. The other method of shucking — 
with the hammer — is quite different, and not so rapid. The hammer 
breaks the mouth of the shell, which is held in the left hand, and then 
it is an easy matter to insert the knife, which is taken up on laying down 
the hammer. Now the oyster is picked up by the left hand and held, 
while the knife cuts it from the upper shell, and at the same time 
flings this off. 

By the next motion the lower shell is removed and cast aside, the 
oyster landing in the bucket. Formerly, instead of hammers, knives, 
with heavy handles, were made, by which the shell was broken along 
the edge; the knife was then reversed and used in cutting, as just 
described. In some establishments each shucker has two buckets, one 
for large, choice oysters, and the other for average sizes. As the piles of 
shells grow around the shuckers, they are wheeled outside and dumped, 
thus giving rise to the huge shell heaps seen all along the water-front of 
an oyster town. The workers are kept supplied with oysters wheeled in 
from the storage bins. The work is not apparently as hard as that of the 
oystermen, but is still fatiguing and laborious, and the shuckers are 
frequently compelled to stop work to warm their hands, which would 
otherwise soon become numbed from handling cold oysters. The 
shuckers are perhaps a better class than either the dredgers or tongers. 
Many shuckers work pretty regularly, earning from $2.50 to $3.50 a day, 
own their own little houses, and get along fairly well. The majority, 
however, are poorly clothed, dirty, shiftless, and ignorant, simply work- 
ing because compelled to do so ; never aiming to better their condition. 
On the Eastern Shore almost all the employes are negroes, and it would 
be hard to find a more picturesquely shabby crowd. In spite of their 
poverty and generally miserable condition, it is a real pleasure to see these 
people at work. There seems to be a sort of fascination for them in the 
act of shucking. As the work goes on, some one with a powerful voice 
starts a negro hymn, and soon the whole room-full is singing with the 
energy and fire of a camp-meeting. Singing seems to be a sort of com- 
pensation to the poor shuckers, for their hard work and impoverished - 
state. 

As soon as a shucker fills his bucket, he takes it to the window 
which opens into the packing house. In the packing room, just under 



■'-.-• ■:• 



'%, 




THE OYSTER AND THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 311 

this window, stands a large strainer, or colander of tin, as big around as a 
tub. A man, whose special business it is, takes the bucket of oysters 
from the shucker, and empties the contents on the strainer. Fresh 
water is then run on to wash off small pieces of shell and dirt, together 
with the natural liquor of the oysters. The oysters are scooped up into 
a quart measure, and poured into large tubs of fresh water. A gallon of 
such oysters is known as a "gallon dry measure"; and, as the shuckers 
are paid by " dry measure," it is to their interest to lose all the liquor 
they can in shucking, A record is kept of every gallon handed through 
the window; in some places the shuckers receiving a check for each 
gallon as it is brought in. At the end of the day twenty cents is paid 
for every gallon shucked, some of the workers making as much as $3.75. 
After a good washing in the tubs, in which, in warm weather, large cakes 
of ice are floating, the oysters are packed. 

In towns down the bay the fresh oysters are simply fastened up in 
barrels, half -barrels or kegs, and shipped by rail, the barrels having ice 
in them. 

In Baltimore wooden buckets and tin cans, packed in large cases 
surrounded with ice, are chiefly used. When emptied by consumers, the 
buckets and cans are usually returned to the packer. 

Another method of shipment for distant points is found in the 
steamed-oyster trade. Oysters are unloaded from the boats into little 
cars of iron wicker-work, holding two or three bushels each, which run 
out on the wharf near the steaming-house. When loaded, three of these 
cars at a time are run into a long steam-box, in which they are shut up 
and subjected to a high temperature for three or four minutes. When 
sufficiently steamed the oysters are shucked, it being an easy matter to 
remove them from the shells when dead and gaping open. They are 
then put up in cans of various sizes, heated again, soldered up, and 
finally heated a third time for a few minutes. After cooling, the cans 
are labeled, packed and shipped all over the country. 

The large canning and packing establishments in Baltimore often 
have kilns connected with them, in which the shells are burnt to lime. 
Fertilizing companies also burn great quantities of shells for the lime. 
Besides this, shells are of use as ballast in boats, to fill in low land, etc., 
etc. The very important use of shells in forming new oyster beds is not 
practiced in Maryland, since there is no such thing as artificial cultiva- 
tion here. 

The following extracts from the report of the United States Commis- 
sioner of Fish and Fisheries, Colonel Marshall McDonald, will give an 
idea of the magnitude of Maryland's greatest industry : 

"The returns indicate that in 1891, 32,104 persons were directly 
engaged in the industry; that the capital invested was $6,697,302, and 



312 MARYLAND. 

that the value to the fishermen of the oysters taken was $5,295,866. 
Comparing these figures with the aggregate for the entire fishing interests 
of the Coastal States of the United States, it is seen that the oyster 
industry of Maryland gave employment to nearly one-fourth of the 
persons engaged; represented nearly one-sixth of the capital invested, 
and yielded more than one-seventh of the money returned." 

"Of the 32,104 persons directly engaged in the industry, 11,293 were 
factory hands," employed in the canning and packing houses. The 
28,811 remaining were chiefly tongers and dredgers. There were, roughly 
speaking, about 7,000 boats, tongers, dredgers and scrapers; 5,000 of 
which were tongers. The total catch for 1891 is stated to have been 
9,945,058 bushels, of which the dredgers took 5,475,725 bushels, while 
the tongers are represented by 4,469,333 bushels. 

From this short sketch of the most valuable interest of the State, it 
is readily seen that if Nature unaided is so bountiful, when once modern 
methods of artificial cultivation shall have been adopted, there will be a 
vast increase in the production and a rich source of revenue to the State. 
The ignorance and indifference of the oystermen to all but their own 
immediate interests have hitherto had influence enough to thwart all 
attempts at the introduction of improved methods, and a system of 
regulations to prevent the depletion of the beds, such as other States 
have adopted with the best results; but the eyes of the public are being 
opened to the real state of affairs, and the magnitude of the interests 
at stake, and there is good reason to hope that this great field of industry 
and source of wealth will not much longer be mismanaged and destroyed. 



CHAPTER IX. 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 






The history of Maryland commerce is as old as Maryland itself. It 
begins two hundred and fifty years back, with a condition of absolute 
dependence upon English shipping, and this dependence it was the 
avowed policy of the mother country to establish and maintain. During 
the early years of the Province, an English Order in Council provided 
that " no tobacco or other production of the colonies should thenceforth 
be carried into any foreign parts until they were first landed in England 
and the duties paid." The Navigation Act of 1651 further restricted 
trade to English built ships, and for the next hundred years an uninter- 
rupted series of restrictive measures combined to confirm the commercial 
vassalage of Maryland. Agents were established by English merchants 
at many of the old river towns of the Province, whither tobacco, securely 
packed in hogsheads, was rolled from adjacent plantations — -weighed, 
paid for, and stowed aboard English bottoms waiting at the landing. In 
1761 Maryland trade engaged one hundred and twenty vessels, with an 
aggregate tonnage of 8,000 tons, of which only some thirty vessels, of a 
total burthen of 1,300 tons, were owned 'in the Province. "With the 
events and consequences of the Revolutionary War, the situation under- 
went radical changes. Commercial restrictions were thrown off, and 
trade in the great staples of the State stimulated. Natural advantages 
of location began to assert themselves ; local accumulations of capital 
led to independent purchase and direct shipment, and Maryland ports 
rapidly assumed commercial prominence. 

Between the close of the Revolutionary War and the outbreak of the 
War of 1812, there was an extraordinary expansion of Baltimore trade. 
Continental wars not only increased the demand for Maryland staples, 
but largely diverted the West India trade to this safer port. The rise 
and perfection of the "Baltimore Clipper" aided the opportunity, and 
during the whole period of which we are speaking, Baltimore enjoyed 
the chief part of European and West Indian commerce, together with no 
inconsiderable share of the world's carrying trade. The volume of 
Maryland exports increased from $2,239,691 in 1791, to $5,811,380 in 1795, 
to $9,151,939 in 1804, and to $14,298,984 in 1807. During the war of 1812, 



314 MARYLAND. 

the commerce of the State was largely suspended, but thereafter it 
developed with renewed vigor. 

Baltimore was the natural market for the agricultural products of 
the interior and western countiy. Active communication had long been 
maintained with this vast region; in early days by pack-horses, later by 
long wagon trains that traversed the great northern turnpikes as far as 
the Ohio River. The introduction of steamboats upon the navigable 
waters of the West displaced this means of transportation. Improved 
systems of communication had been established by New York and 
Pennsylvania, and a deflection of trade to these centres was threatened. 
Public-spirited citizens immediately began an agitation to supply the 
need, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company was incorporated in 
1824 for the purpose of constructing a canal from tidewater on the 
Potomac to the 01 do River. Several years later, when estimates of the 
enormous cost of the canal rendered its immediate completion improb- 
able, a supplementary project was proposed — a railroad from Baltimore 
across the mountains to the Ohio. In February, 1827, the first railroad 
charter granted in the United States was given by the General Assembly 
of Maryland to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The work of actual 
construction was begun in the following year. In 1853 the road was 
completed to the Ohio River, and in 1857 direct connection was secured 
with St. Louis. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was opened in 1850 for 
through navigation from Georgetown to Cumberland. These great 
arteries form an organic part of the commercial history of Maryland. 
They opened up a vast undeveloped region, and secured for the 
metropolis of the State a large measure of the advantages .suggested by 
its natural location as a seaboard market and distributing depot for the 
West. 

Both trade and commerce suffered severely from the Civil War. 
Communication with the South was completely cut off, and Western 
trade temporarily diverted to other channels. But the causes of pros- 
perity were suspended, not destroyed, and as the prostrate industrial life 
of the country revived, the trade centres of the State emerged into 
enhanced importance. The vigor and activity of those early days has 
never waned. The commercial prosperity of Maryland is historical in 
its growth, the product of unexampled natural advantages, and perma- 
nent in its stability and strength. 

BALTIMORE. 

Baltimore is located at the head of navigation, on the Patapsco River, 
thirteen miles above its entrance into the Chesapeake Bay, and one 
hundred and seventy miles from the Atlantic Ocean, at Cape Henry. The 
Patapsco River, from the city to the bay, is really an arm of that magnifl- 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 315 

cent estuary, as the fluvial waters under this name terminate near the 
southwestern boundaries of the city, from whence to its junction with 
the bay, it forms a spacious tidal basin, averaging two miles in width, 
with from 18 to 22 feet natural depth at mean low water. This location, 
one hundred and seventy miles inland, connected with the Atlantic by 
the wide and deep waters of the Chesapeake Bay, marked Baltimore in 
the early days of the State as a natural point of transfer for the commerce 
between the interior of the continent and foreign countries. From the 
long-ago days, when swift privateers roamed the seas, and the " Baltimore 
Clipper" was the admiration of the nautical world, until now, Baltimore 
has held a foremost place among Atlantic sea-ports. More, perhaps, to 
natural location, than to any other single cause, is this due. The Patapsco 
River offers bold water on both sides for many miles of frontage, as does 
the Chesapeake Bay to its mouth. Elevated rolling lands slope down on 
either hand to sandy beaches. The fluctuations of the water level, due 
to the tidal movement (only about eighteen inches), are so slight that in 
either bay or river, navigation is unhindered by the impeding currents so 
often found at other ports. For the same reason no swinging or floating 
stagings are necessary for the lading or discharge of cargoes or passengers, 
nor expensive closed docks to keep vessels afloat at varying stages of the 
tide. For seven miles on one side, and for over three miles on the other, 
railways are in operation, by which every foot of water front can be 
connected, at small cost, with any or all of the railway systems of the 
country. In a word, no city on the Atlantic coast offers, by reason of 
natural situation, facilities for the extension of commercial business 
superior to those presented by Baltimore. 

Ship Channel. In the days when the commerce of the world was 
borne by sailing vessels, and a ship of eight hundred tons was considered 
a large one, the natural depth of water in the Patapsco was ample for all 
the requirements of a commerce which spanned the Atlantic, embraced 
both shores of the western hemisphere, and covered the waters of the 
Pacific and Indian Oceans with the sails of Maryland ships. As, how- 
ever, in answer to the demands of commerce and the requirements of the 
most economic methods of ocean transport, the size and tonnage of 
vessels steadily increased, until the coasting schooner exceeded in 
tonnage the old Liverpool liners and Indiamen, and steamships of 4,000 
tons burthen were classed among the smaller transports, it became 
evident that if Baltimore was to maintain her commercial importance 
the depth of water in the channels of the river must be increased by 
dredging. 

The first efforts in this direction were began forty years ago, the city, 
State and federal governments acting in conjunction, and looked to the 
opening of a channel twenty-one feet deep at the mouth of the river, 



316 MARYLAND. 

where the natural depth was not over eighteen feet at low water. With 
large contributions from the city, added to the appropriations by the 
government, this work of improvement has been steadily pushed forward 
with ever increasing demands for increase of width and depth of waterway, 
to meet increasing size and tonnage of vessels. The ship channel leading 
to this port has now a least width of six hundred feet and a depth of 
twenty-seven feet at mean low water, sufficient, at least for the present, 
for the largest ocean steamers. It may safely be asserted that should 
the necessity arise, additional width and depth will promptly be provided, 
if necessary, by the city alone, whose contributions, heretofore, have 
materially hastened the completion of the work. 

Harbors. At the entrance to Baltimore harbor, the Patapsco River 
divides into the northwest, southwest and middle branches. The north- 
west branch pierces two and a half miles into the very heart of the 
business portion of the city, affording miles of water front, within easy 
reach of the main thoroughfares of the eastern and central sections. 
The southwest and middle branches envelope the southern and south- 
western sections, giving a long expanse of water front, in close proximity 
to the lines of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The main harbor, or 
that on the northwest branch, is surrounded by the older portions of the 
city, and contains grain elevators, steamship piers, railroad terminals, 
dry dock, floating docks and marine railways. This harbor has a water 
front measured on the pier head line of six and a half miles, an area of 
six hundred and thirty acres, and while leaving ample fairways for the 
movement of vessels, furnishes ninety-six acres of anchorage grounds, 
on which the least depth of water is nineteen feet. The whole of the 
lower portion of the harbor, covering the elevators and steamship piers, 
has a depth of twenty-seven feet at mean low water. The harbor along 
the southwest and middle branches has, within the city limits, and 
measured on the pier head line, a water front of five and a half miles, 
and nearly as much more on the opposite banks, in the county. It 
covers an area of thirteen hundred acres, and has channels of seventeen 
feet depth at mean low water. The total water front within the city 
limits, if fully improved, would furnish at least fifty miles of wharf 
room, allowing docks of one hundred and fifty feet in width. In 
addition to these commercial facilities within the city, there are nearly 
ten miles of water front on the Patapsco, below the city, with railroads 
in operation near it, on both sides of the river. 

As the harbor of Baltimore is the receptacle for most of the drainage 
of the city and an extensive area of back country, a large amount of 
dredging is annually required to maintain the specified depths of water 
in the various sections of the harbor. This work is done entirely by the 
city, under the immediate direction of an unpaid Commission, known as 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 317 

the Harbor Board, who also are conservators of tlie laws regulating the 
construction and repair of wharves, and of all laws touching the general 
preservation and maintenance of the harbor and the navigation of the 
river and harbor. 

Port Charges. There are, strictly speaking, no port charges at 
Baltimore, except clearance, register and license fees, paid to the Federal 
Government through the Collector of the Port. These are the same at 
all ports of entry in the United States. What are ordinarily classed as 
port charges — that is, cost of wharfage, stevedoring, tonnage, etc., — 
fluctuate from time to time, but always within reasonable limits. There 
is, however, no charge for wharfage at elevators when grain is taken on, 
and it is generally conceded that all incidental expenses of this kind are 
lower in Baltimore than at any other Atlantic port. 

Baltimore has not, however, become a great exporting centre and 
distributing point by means of natural advantages alone. Local enterprise 
and ready capital have provided ample means of communication and 
unsurpassed facilities for the receipt and distribution of commodities to 
the world's markets. It is to the consideration of these that we now 
naturally turn. 

STEAMSHIP LINES. 

Some twenty regular lines of steamers are engaged in trade between 
Baltimore and important European and South American ports, in addition 
to a large number of " tramp steamers " and several lines of sailing 
vessels. 

Of the regular steamship lines, the North German Lloyd has a service 
of fine vessels between Baltimore, and Bremen and Southampton. Sailings 
are weekly, and the passage is ordinarily made in twelve days. Passenger 
travel has assumed large proportions on this line. The Allan Line, 
between Baltimore and Liverpool, calling at Halifax, makes sailings 
fortnightly, and in the summer season with more frequency. The fleet 
consists of five vessels, fitted with all conveniences for passenger traffic. 
The Johnston Line trades between this port and Liverpool and London, 
and is particularly active in cattle, grain, cotton and lumber transportation. 
The Lord Line has a bi-monthly service from Baltimore to Belfast and 
Dublin. The Donaldson Line offers facilities to shippers to Glasgow; 
thence to Scotland, Ireland and the northern parts of England. The 
Atlantic Transport Line runs a large fleet of steamships between 
Baltimore, and London and Swansea. The Neptune Line plies between 
Baltimore and Rotterdam, as does also the Royal Netherlands Line, with 
fortnightly sailings. The Bristol Channel Line sails monthly to Bristol, 
and the Empire Line at similar intervals to Leith, Scotland. The Blue 



318 MARYLAND. 

Cross Line plies weekly between Baltimore and Havre. The Puritan Line 
despatches steamers every ten days to Antwerp. The Pinkney-Furness 
Line carries freight to various European ports ; the Hooper Line, to 
Liverpool, and the Hamburg-American Packet Company, to Hamburg. 
The Earn Line has a series of vessels between Baltimore and Santiago-de- 
Cuba, Cuba, with occasional voyages to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 
Hammonia Line carries freight from Baltimore to various Brazilian 
ports. 

The coast trade of Baltimore with northern and southern ports 
has assumed large proportions and engages several important lines 
of steamers equipped for passenger as well as freight traffic. The 
Merchants' and Miners' Transportation Company maintain nine large 
steamships with regular sailings to Norfolk, Boston, Savannah, and 
Providence. The Bay Line has a series of fine steamers running nightly 
to Norfolk, where important connections are made with the South. The 
New York and Baltimore Transportation Company operate between 
Baltimore and New York, and the Ericsson Line between Baltimore and 
Philadelphia, by way of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The 
Richmond and York River Line has a fleet which runs to West Point 
and Richmond, where connections are made with the Richmond and 
Danville Railroad. 

Trade with the bay and river ports of Maryland employs a whole 
fleet of vessels. The principal companies engaged in this traffic are the 
Eastern Shore Steamboat Company, Veems Transportation Line, Mary- 
land Steamboat Company, Chester River Steamboat Company, Sassafras 
River Steamboat Company, Choptank Steamboat Company, Wheeler 
Transportation Line, Maryland and Virginia Steamboat Company, Tol- 
chester Steamboat Company and others. There are in all about fifty bay 
steamers, ranging in tonnage from 250 to 800 tons, many with excellent 
passenger facilities in addition to freight accommodations. During the 
busy summer season they make daily trips, while in the winter months, 
when the business is lighter, four trips per week suffice. In addition, 
innumerable schooners, pungies, and bugeyes run throughout the year, 
bringing a vast assortment of produce to Baltimore markets. 

RAILROADS. 

The advantages of inland location have been emphasized and 
developed for Baltimore by the construction of direct lines of railroads, 
placing the city in proximity, nearer by many miles than Northern 
and Eastern rivals, to the great productive sections of the country. By 
the shortest rail line, Baltimore is thus ninety-six miles nearer points 
in the South than Philadelphia, one hundred and eighty nearer than 
New York and four hundred and thirteen nearer than Boston. With 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 319 

respect to Cincinnati, its advantages over these cities are respectively 
seventy-four, one hundred and sixty-four and three hundred and thirty- 
two miles, and in regard to other Western points they are even more 
decided. The railroad facilities of Baltimore include five distinct 
standard-gauge railroads and one narrow-gauge road, now being changed 
to standard-gauge. The vantage ground upon which they place the 
commercial interests of the city have been vividly desci'ibed as follows : 
" Baltimore stands with her face to the south, and with one hand 
prepared to gather the products of nearly half of the United States and 
to send them forward to other nations, and in return with the left hand 
to bestow the peculiar products of the soil of Maryland and her sister 
States upon those States whose climate will not allow the growth of such 
luxuries. One iron finger runs almost due north, through the rich 
farming lands of central Pennsylvania and southwestern New York, 
until it touches the great lakes, with their ships loaded with grain. 
Another stretches out into manufacturing Pittsburg, 328 miles distant, 
the coal, coke, lumber, iron and other mineral lands of southwestern 
Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio, and away to 
Chicago, 830 miles, the central point for the grain, hay, cattle and other 
farm products of the great northwest, and the flour of St. Paul and 
Minneapolis, 1,296 miles from the seaboard. The third finger beckons 
to the stock-raisers of Kentucky and Tennessee, the active men of St. 
Louis, 931 miles to the west, and of Kansas City, 1,213 miles away, and 
bids them to turn towards Baltimore the rapidly-increasing shipments of 
cattle and cereals from the empire of the southwest. The index finger 
very appropriately follows the lines of the Appalachian system of 
mountains, which, ranging from the southwest to the northeast, give an 
outlet to Baltimore by the natural rift at Harper's Ferry, whose immense 
water-power, gradually being utilized, must bear tribute to this city. 
Down through the beautiful, fertile and well-watered Shenandoah 
Valley of Virginia the finger points, gathering in the profits from the 
farm lands of the valley proper, the wood and minerals of the mountain 
slopes, the coal and iron of the southwestern Virginia and southern West 
Virginia hills with the cattle of their plains, piercing the pine and hard- 
wood regions of western North Carolina and South Carolina, east Kentucky 
and Tennessee, and finally touching the flourishing manufacturing and 
industrial centres of the new south, Birmingham, Anniston, Ensley and 
other towns and cities of Alabama, which have grown with the develop- 
ment of its natural resources. The broad thumb covers a fertile section 
embracing Richmond, Norfolk, Atlanta, Savannah and Charleston, and 
some of the finest traveling country on the Atlantic slope, extending 
from Norfolk to Florida." 



320 MARYLAND. 

A few words of detail may be added to this summary : 
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is so intimately connected with the 
commercial development of Baltimore as naturally to attract the first 
consideration. Historically, the first railroad in the United States, it has 
become, by extension and incorporation, one of the great trunk lines of 
the country, forming an organic system of more than 3,000 miles. In one 
direction, it extends to Philadelphia, thence by direct connection to New 
York; in another, it penetrates the vast regions of the West, Southwest 
and Northwest, through the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, West 
Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, to the waters of the Mississippi. 
Connections at such important centres as Philadelphia, Washington, 
Pittsburg, Wheeling, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis give direct access 
to all sections of the country. The local tide-water terminals of the 
system are situated in the main at Locust Point, and are planned on an 
extensive scale. Several acres of ground are occupied by tracks and 
freight houses, while a large water frontage and immense piers render 
possible the transfer of freight from ocean steamers to cars, or vice versa, 
with the utmost facility and economy. Two enormous grain elevators 
for export delivery, located here, have a capacity of 1,500,000 and 1,800,000 
bushels respectively. A third, for local traffic, situated near Camden 
Station, has a capacity of 200,000 bushels. Massive piers are fitted for 
immigrant traffic, and make it almost possible for the new arrival to step 
from steamer to train. On the east side of the harbor are found 
additional piers and large shifting yards. The central station of the 
road is conveniently located on Camden near Howard street. Exit from 
the city to eastern points has, up to the present time, involved ferriage 
across the Patapsco River from Locust Point. This will be obviated by 
the Belt Line tunnel, which pierces the heart of the city to its outskirts. 
Plans have also been completed for the erection of a handsome central 
passenger depot at Lombard and Liberty streets. 

The Northern Central Railway serves to connect Baltimore with the 
great Pennsylvania system, and, at the same time, affords a direct outlet 
to the North. It penetrates the rich agricultural section of central 
Pennsylvania and southwestern New York up to the great lakes, thus 
pouring into Baltimore an enormous volume of corn and wheat for 
export. Direct connection with the coal region of Pennsylvania brings 
to the city a heavy tonnage of anthracite and bituminous coal. The 
tide-water terminals of the road are located at Canton, and occupy 
several acres of ground, with an extensive water front. Grain elevators 
of large capacity, merchandise piers, immense docks and warehouses are 
also situated here and provide admirable facilities for handling and 
transferring ocean freight. The city terminals of the city are the Calvert 
Street, President Street and Union stations. The general offices of the 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 321 

road are located within a block of the main passenger station on Calvert 
street. Close by are the chief inland freight stations, covering several 
blocks. Two associated branches of the Pennsylvania system, the 
Baltimore and Potomac, and the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Balti- 
more, connect Baltimore respectively with Washington, and with 
Philadelphia, New York and the East. 

The Western Maryland Railroad is essentially a Baltimore road. Its 
construction was made possible by municipal aid, and at the present 
time it renders a large area of Western Maryland and the rich counties 
of Southern Pennsylvania almost exclusively tributary to Baltimore. 
The main line of the road extends west from Baltimore, through West- 
minster to Hagerstown, then on to Williamsport on the line of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, to Cherry Run, West Virginia. Branches 
extend to Gettysburg, Waynesboro', Shippensburg,York and Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania. Direct connection with the Philadelphia and Reading 
Railroad gives access on the one hand to Philadelphia and the coal 
regions of Pennsylvania, and with the Norfolk and Western on the other, 
to the industrial centres of the South. The terminals of the road are 
conveniently located in the eastern section of the city, with passenger 
stations at Hillen, Union, Pennsylvania avenue and Fulton avenue 
stations. The road holds a franchise from the city of Baltimore for an 
extension through the city along Jones' Falls to Locust Point, and the 
erection of tidewater terminals. 

The Baltimore and Lehigh Railroad, originally a narrow-gauge road, 
extends from Baltimore, through Baltimore and Harford counties and 
Southern Pennsylvania, to York, Pennsylvania, a distance of seventy-five 
miles. The region it penetrates is rich in agricultural and mineral 
wealth, and capable of marked industrial development. A change to 
standard gauge and the extension of the road to tidewater, to Colgate's 
Creek, with the erection of necessary terminals, are measures now in 
course of completion. The passenger station of the road is on North 
avenue. 

The Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad, designated more 
familiarly as "The Short Line," is a local road, thirty-three miles in 
length, extending from Baltimore to the capital of the State, and passing 
through a rich trucking section. The road employs the local terminals 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

FOREIGN TRADE. 

Baltimore has been active in foreign trade from its very foundation. 
Before 1786 vessels entered and cleared at Annapolis and Joppa, but an 
independent custom house was established in that year, and duties upon 
local imports were thereafter collected here. In the century which has 

21 



322 MARYLAND. 

since elapsed Baltimore has become the third largest exporting centre in 
the country, being surpassed only by New York and New Orleans, the 
latter holding second rank by virtue of its immense cotton trade. The 
exports of the five leading cities in 1892 were as follows: 

New York $377,722,983 

New Orleans 107,684,127 

Baltimore. . . '. 93,126,389 

Boston 88,806,672 

Philadelphia . 60,315,880 

The remarkable development of Baltimore's foreign trade is even 
more clearly indicated by a statement of its import and export values 
during the last ten calendar years : 



Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Year. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


1881 


$16,278,946 
14,658,006 
12,308,392 
12,090,261 
11,193,695 
11,785,113 


$55,779,461 
43,500,798 
50,085,814 
43,488,457 
34,748,264 
46,810,870 


1887 

1888 .... 


$13,055,880 
12,098,629 
15,409,234 
15,339,312 
18,270,000 
14,258,575 


$49,545,970 
45,099,334 
62,077,610 
72,120,083 
79,475,175 
93,126,389 


1882 


1883 


1889 


1884 


1890 


1885 

1886 


1891 

1892 







The chief articles of export are corn, wheat, flour, cattle, tobacco, 
provisions and copper. Importing activity centres about coffee, pine- 
apples, cocoanuts, bananas, chemicals, tin plate and iron ore. The 
amounts, values and direction of imports and exports for the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 1892, as compared with those of the preceding year, are 
given in the following tables : 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



323 



Cattle 

Breadstuffs — 

Wheat 

Flour 

Corn 

Oats 

Rye 

Oatmeal , 

Cornmeal 

Provisions — 

Tallow 

Beef, canned 

Beef, fresh 

Beef, salted 

Bacon 

Hams 

Butter 

Pork 

Cheese 

Lard 

Fruit, canned 

Apples, dried 

Vegetables, canned. 

Oysters, canned .... 

Glucose 

Oils- 
Olio 

Fish 

Illuminating 

Lubricating 

Cottonseed 

Lard 

Cottons — 

s 8ea Island 

tOther cotton 

Cloth, uncolored.. . 

Cloth, colored 

Tobacco — 

Leaf 

Stems 

Cigars 

Seeds — 

Timothy 

Clover 

Sundries — 

Starch 

Oil cake 

Rosin 

Leather 

Copper matte 

Paraffine wax 

Bark extract 

Coal, bituminous . . 

Copper ingots 

Whiskey — 

Rye 

Bourbon 

Lumber — 

Boards 

Staves 

Logs 



Unit of 
Quantity. 



Bushels , 
Barrels.. 
Bushels , 
Bushels . 
Bushels . 
Pounds. . 
Barrels . . 



Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds.. 
Pounds. . 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 



Pounds. . . 
Gallons . . 
Gallons . . 
Gallons . . 
Gallons . . 
Gallons . . 



Pounds 

Pounds 

Sq. Yards. 
Sq. Yards. 



Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 

Pounds. 
Pounds. 

Pounds. 
Pounds. 
Barrels. 
Pounds. 
Tons . . . 
Pounds. 



Tons . . . 
Pounds. 



Gallons . 
Gallons 



Sq. Feet. 



July 1, '90, to June 30, '91. 



Quantity. 



77,718 

1,753,967 

1,360,708 

:,389,183 

430 



16,834 

729,701 

279,638 
012,300 
145,225 
653,270 
578,126 
95,205 
350,301 
74s,925 
904,789 



C.02,297 



6,624,247 

4,863,748 
145,790 
14,708,753 
821,274 
196,600 
262,419 

413,094 

87,193,597 

203,468 

20,500 

48,861,557 

7,269,630 

312 

2,318,756 
9,507,872 



630,860 
531. 380 
182,275 
37,769 
17,618 
198,959 



mo,300 
367,628 



17,691 

23,132 



28,117 



6,450,270 

3,824,476 
12,310,787 
2,547,850 



1,123,941 

3,044,404 

637,470 

469,391 

1,197,266 

540,202 

11,966 

568,803 

91,714 

4,702,446 

13,069 

2S,415 

61,023 

42,890 

157,930 

633,819 
30,144 

739,369 

107,194 
82,935 

129,427 

119,878 

8,649,075 

36,421 



114,672 
5,721 

108,488 
688,280 

207,213 
840,838 
542,185 
13,468 
3,467,587 
143,787 
155,798 
282,753 
436,849 

22,767 
22,372 

881,793 
109,715 
414,029 



July 1, '91, to June 30, '92. 



Quantity. 



63,436 

27,858,840 
3,251,612 
18,625,755 
123,237 
1,161,901 
3,092,819 
47,265 

27,843,389 
28,100,260 
5,795,750 
6,539,512 
8,524,530 
3,623,052 
68,728 
9,203,630 
193,004 
67,528,540 



3,878,365 



2,967,639 
7,627,921 



10,599,399 

1,091,105 

1,610,495 

145,231 



% 138,593,509 

475,498 
66,415 

55,905,439 
8,233,421 



2,022,392 
7,873,963 

7,236,460 

69,304,801 

111,342 

9,758 

19,989 

2,781,509 



92,385 
11,806,294 



101,319 
523,016 



30,413 



5,272,203 

22,262,308 

16,997,379 

9,664,747 

45,087 

1,182,073 

92,760 

143,841 

1,396,163 

3,040,413 

550,581 

400,545 

695,977 

368,467 

8,506 

555,653 

28,526 

5,349,898 

27,753 

338,504 

73,917 

53,305 

81,664 

771,646 



417,810 
139,545 
495,403 
76,918 



11,933,192 
80,777 
9,554 

4,152,003 
139,580 



92,804 
643,227 

230,089 

1,027,877 

195,100 

3,324 

2,713,767 

155,028 

128,664 

251,642 

1,467,288 



424,511 

1,109,449 
59,370 
299,151 



:e Number of bales of Sea Island cotton, 1,133. 
tNumber of bales of other cotton, 176,712. 
JNumber of bales of other cotton, 281,292. 



324 



MARYLAND. 



Articles. 


Unit of 
Quantity. 


July 1, '90, to June 30, '91. 


July 1, '91, to June 30, '92. 


Quantity. 


Values. 


Quantity. 


Values. 


Metals — 




474,544 

6,665 

53 


1,061,587 

280,381 

1,923 


421,712 

16,249 

51 


1,177,833 
412,295 




Tons 


Tons 










Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Pounds 

Tons 


4,943,130 

610,114 

144,224,644 

5,061,386 
13,657,136 
12,304,801 
2,743,349 
51,455,852 
6,331 
9,339 


37,288 

15,121 

5,987,412 

69,632 
204,622 
209,279 

76,153 
743,591 

70,796 
247,324 

291,678 
41,062 

156,617 
36,972 
14,748 

5,446,578 
20,232 
151,882 
43,420 
32,822 
34,877 
32,354 

1,319,603 
10,007 

16,717 
138,832 
130,656 
51,941 
87,908 

48,775 
163,589 


34,789 
3,098,334 
52,004,521 

8,063,145 
13,840,848 
13,498,603 
2,866,806 
57,463,283 
6,076 
9,981 


3,099 






1,466,901 
136,047 


Chemicals- 






151,093 














Tons 




Fruits and Nuts — 
































10,743 










Provisions — 
Coffee 


Pounds 

Pounds 

Sq. Yards 


28,366,682 

774,981 

8,507,354 

27,387,716 

341,846 

134,406 

198,706 

42,271,097 

77,289 

117,136 
130,938 
561,002 


17,793,44S 

1,534,062 

7,072,750 

23,242,477 

433,960 

162,380 

180,600 

15,599,263 


3,608,610 






115,072 


Salt 






Tea 
















Textiles — 








151,534 150,118 








102,343 
136,431 










Sundries — 




3,535 
46,057,393 


1,087 




Pounds 


61,461,27S 205,844 
700 816 








6,272,258 


115,850 


11,702,700 196,290 






Tons 


1,011 


5,465 
133,320 
171,595 
188,279 

51,200 


2,987 14,932 
















129,742 
275,201 










Tobacco — 


Pounds 

Gallons 

Gallons 

Dozens 


333,005 








Liquors — 


17,515 17,083 
28,761 23,744 
2,993 10,621 
4,577 9,742 


15,931 i 16,046 
24,832 i 20,946 
2,522 [ 16,317 












Gallons 


15,134 21,061 






10,010 1 4095 













COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



325 



July 1, 1390, 

to 
June 30, 1891. 



Azores or Madeira Islands . 

Austria- Hungary 

Other African Possessions . 
Belgium 



Brazil 

British West Indies 

" East Indies 

" Guiana 

Chili 

Cuba 

Canary Islands 

China 

U. S. Columbia 

Dutch West Indies 

Danish West Indies 

Denmark 

England 

France 

French Possessions in Africa 

French West Indies 

Germany 

Greece 

Hong Kong 

Liberia 

Italy 

Ireland 

Japan 

Mexico 

Netherlands 

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 

New Foundland and Labrador 

Portugal 

Puerto Rico 

Russia on the Baltic Sea 

" " Black Sea 

Spain 

Scotland 

Sweden and Norway 

Switzerland 

Turkey in Asia 

" Europe 

Uruguay 

Venezuela 

Hawaiian Islands 

Sicily 

Total 



Values op Impokts. 



July 1, 1891, 

to 
June 30, 1892. 



34,346 



81,789 
i,452,031 
493,010 
3,538 
184,229 
237,026 
.,924,274 



46,022 
26,150 



1,857,275 
101,403 



.,497,989 
34,794 
11,351 
1,184 
602,591 
29,220 
12,046 



92,029 
23,188 
23,331 



192,440 



254,326 
132,036 
39,806 
54,943 
58,719 
3,965 

37,775 

22,453 



20,555,687 



17,363 

49,335 

86,487 

3,606,093 

428,879 

52,180 

126,675 

150,888 

957,685 

12 

26,417 

25,030 

600 



4,143,999 

91,081 

1,264 



1,754,374 
3,566 



745,754 
19,828 
42,577 



98,321 
27,388 
22,995 
5,477 
24,914 
25,143 
173,000 
292,970 
141,254 
31,731 
53,918 
75,432 
97,191 

16,286' 



13,418,253 



July 1, 1890, 

to 
June 30, 1891. 



Values or Exports. 



July 1, 1891, 

to 
June 30, 1S92. 



1,739,822 
3,696,565 



46,930 
"374,129 



21,737 
4,400 
69,279 



32.776,226 
3,734,660 



43,376 
8,766,793 



3,065,149 



620 

5,143,292 

15,516 

110,729 



18,289 



4,621,483 
12,500 



6,292 
2,151 



2,600 



5,934,458 

2,387,016 

34,813 



94,890 



301.208 



924 

27,044 



33,204 

830,965 

33,114,112 

11,522,851 



58,329 
15,492,283 



410 
7,383,981 



1,365 

16,519,990 

13,717 

75,344 



29,546 



4,206 

4,686,265 

242,078 



98,796,856 



326 MARYLAND. 

Grain. For many years Baltimore has been an important grain 
exporting port, and at the present time its cereal trade is exceeded by 
only one port on the Atlantic coast. The natural location of the city 
with respect to the interior makes it the nearest point of export to central 
Ohio and the central valley of the Mississippi. This involves a much 
shorter haul, and naturally results in a decided preference for Baltimore 
over other seaboard cities, by grain shippers from the southern and 
middle West. The annual receipts average about 30,000,000 bushels, 
although in 1892 the enormous aggregate of 50,794,541 was reached. The 
bulk of this is drawn from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Iowa, 
Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. During the winter months, when the 
great lakes and the Erie Canal are closed, the area under tribute is 
extended far into the Northwest. The heaviest exports are to Great 
Britain, Germany, Holland, Denmark and Belgium. Seven storage 
elevators and five floating transfer elevators provide ample facilities for 
the prompt receipt and rapid distribution of grain. The storage elevators 
have a capacity of 5,850,000 bushels. The transfer elevators can transfer 
21,000 bushels per hour. The storage and delivery charges for a period 
of ten days are one and one-quarter cents per bushel for grain received 
from cars, and one and one-half cents when received from vessels. An 
efficient inspection department, with a chief inspector at its head, 
inspects and grades all grain arriving . at public store-houses. The 
administration of the department is vested in a bureau of inspection, 
composed of the president of the Corn and Flour Exchange and the 
chairman of the wheat and corn committees. The inspection charges 
are twenty-five cents per car, and five cents per hundred bushels when 
received by vessel and delivered according to grade. The supply of flour 
is drawn from the West — Illinois, Indiana and Minnesota — and, in a less 
degree, from city mills. Of the 3,732,150 barrels forming the aggregate 
receipts for 1892, 3,055,458 barrels came by rail and 499,989 from city 
mills. Exportations are principally to Brazil, Great Britain and the 
West Indies. The development of the trade is seen in the following 
table : 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



327 



RECEIPTS OF GRAIN. 



Years. 


WHEAT. 

bus. 


CORN. 

bus. 


OATS. 

bus. 


RYE. 

bus. 


BARLEY. 

bus. 


MALT. 

bus. 


CLOVER 
AND TIMO- 
THY SEED. 

bus. 


TOTAL. 

bus. 


ELOUR. 

bbls. 


1892 
1891 
1890 
1889 


17,571,333 

18,743,394 

6,378,638 

6,889,432 

7,004,443 

13,150,486 

12,310,534 

8,414,114 

17,756,630 

17,146,432 

17,898,569 

20,933,255 

36,414,393 

34,634,426 

22,017,120 

7,331,540 

3,945,247 

4,409,670 

6,389,834 

2,810,917 

2,456,100 

4,076,017 


30,631,527 

6,928 096 

21,093,894 

18,354,018 

6,943,839 

9,126,699 

15,099,869 

15,948,828 

7,093,051 

11,779,638 

3,401,308 

15,486,884 

16,590,291 

23, 162,986 

17,907,108 

21,212,399 

24,684,230 

9,567,141 

9,355,467 

8,330,449 

9,045,465 

5,735,921 


2,185,676 
1,687,112 
2,556,630 
1,969,916 
2,110,028 
1,810,280 
1,809,358 
1,801,794 
1,660,902 
1,192,462 
1,041,743 
935,616 
1,172,487 
1,616,927 
1,052,046 
831,182 
810,212 
977,514 
1,139,216 
1,255,072 
1,959,161 
1,833,409 


922,685 
1,206,813 
469,880 
260,300 
200,363 
111,648 
247,454 
293,296 
608,639 
207,483 
118,524 
178,514 
224,506 
154,331 

59,631 
116,689 
112,160 

74,529 
118,548 
100,519 

90,938 

88,956 


375,766 
149,149 
288,036 

+446,751 
493,479 
422,869 
424,946 
380,141 
30S,399 
310,317 
332,785 
321,195 
259,307 
350,000 


150,389' 

484,141 


107,555 
89,942 
258,830 
117,196 
120,251 
111,482 


50,794,541 
28,954,895 
31,530,049 
28,219,257 
16,825,675 
25,138,003 
30,095,571 
27,149,078 
27,718,058 
30,765,821 
22,770,461 
37,867,054 
54,722,872 
59,827,977 
41,035,905 
29,491,810 
29,551,849 
15,028,854 
17,003,065 
12,496,957 
13,551,664 
11,734,303 


3,732,150 
3,099,399 
3,388,937 
3,189,572 
3,015,648 
3,161,263 
1,928,194 
1,589,063 
1,200,345 
1,158,380 
1,227,264 


1887 


333,929 
205,587 
266,100 
218,695 
131,407 


1885 
1884 














1,248,257 








1,378,587 
1,333,232 
1,412,652 
1,171,248 




























1,389,538 
1,391,843 
1,560,997 
1,312,612 
1,175,967 























































tlneludes Malt. 



EXPORTS OF GRAIN. 



Years. 


wheat. 
bus. 


CORN. 

bus. 


OATS. 

bus. 


RYE. 

bus. 


BARLEY. 

bus. 


CLOVER 
AND TIMO- 
THY SEED. 

bus. 


TOTAL. 

bus. 


FLOUR. 

bbls. 


1892 


16.661,559 

16;074,292 

4,817,614 

4,507,165 

4,161,129 

10,717,353 

10,575,290 

4,575,262 

16,511,340 

15,375,093 

17,564,407 

19,676,640 

33,768,985 

1 32,144,349 

1 19,610,791 

5,479,567 

! 1,659,861 

2,046,430 

3,556,848 

1,158,097 


18,995,907 

4,096,234 

18,854,951 

16,617,177 

4,419,977 

7,158,432 

14,076,379 

13,752,196 

4,^93,759 

10,012,247 

1,371,823 

12,735,083 

14 686,908 

21,327,419 

16,953,458 

19,268,725 

20,953,724 

6,989,607 

5,959,757 

6,003,618 


172,271 

546 

617,053 

131,999 

5,670 

1,422 

1,160 

33,620 

900 

4,038 

6,262 

10,035 

19,825 

76,577 

19,018 


740,670 


26,785 


107,463 
224,064 
229,958 


36,704,455 
31,191,713 
34,579,333 
31,356,363 
8,724,271 
18,048,979 
24,652,899 
18,394,881 
21,903,979 
25,478,909 
18,942,492 
32,421,758 
48,475,718 
53,577,379 
36,666,999 
24,748,292 
22,613,585 
9,036,037 
9,580,267 
7,161,715 


3,661,623 
2,703,715 


1890 


41,900 


17,847 
21 

42 
84 
70 

75 


2,624,282 
2,332,805 






137,453 
85,844 


2,417,874 


1887 




3,081,246 
1,662,504 




33,728 
397,980 
87,531 




- 1,093,093 






437,713 








441,477 
463,878 
















413,923 










497,042 




29,034 
49,584 






447,134 




34,148 




590,150 






369,519 












426,094 












453,000 




2,624 


61,038 






474,758 








359,566 













328 MARYLAND. 

Cattle. Baltimore is steadily increasing in importance as a cattle 
market. It is in close proximity to the rich grazing fields of "Virginia 
and Tennessee; Western stock is confined for a briefer time than when 
shipped to more northern ports; ample facilities are provided in well 
equipped stock-yards, and the steamship lines from this port are especially 
fitted for cattle transportation. The receipts at the Union Stock Yards 
for 1892 were: Cattle, 100,035; sheep, 283,420; hogs, 546,338. The first 
shipment of cattle to foreign ports took place in 1878. Since that time 
the trade has assumed large proportions, its development being indicated 
by the following figures : 

Tear. Number. Value. 

1879 2,675 $ 267,500 

1880 10,758 949,858 

1881 3,372 367,445 

1882 3,824 473,835 

1883 16,356 1,618,626 

1884 15,393 1,747,095 

1885 18,236 2,038,900 

1886 12,493 1,307,410 

1887 16,404 1,658,433 

1888 23,286 1,903,512 

1889 59,357 5,050,930 

1890 90,847 7,481,340 

1891 66,230 5,518,703 

1892, to October 1 78,092 6,515,758 

Total 417,223 $36,889,345 

Tobacco. Baltimore has always been the principal market for all 
tobacco grown in Maryland. But little of this is used for domestic 
consumption, the bulk being exported to Holland, Germany, France and 
Northern Europe. Baltimore is also the distributing point for much of the 
tobacco grown in Eastern Ohio, part of which is consumed in this country, 
part exported to Europe. Since early provincial days a system of official 
inspection has prevailed, designed for the protection of seller and 
purchaser. Three warehouses for this purpose are in operation in 
Baltimore. The transactions for 1892 are indicated in the following 
statement : 

Stock on hand January 1, 1892 3,788 hhds. 

INSPECTIONS. 

Maryland 24,811 

Deduct re-inspections . • 2,356 

22,455 

Ohio 6,520 

Deduct re-inspections 461 

6,059 

Virginia and Kentucky 61 

28,575 

36,458 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 329 

Amount brought forward 36,458 

SHIPMENTS OF MARYLAND AND OHIO TO 

Bremen 3,804 

Holland 12,469 

Antwerp 97 

Hamburg 797 

England 50 

France 12,089 

North of Europe via New York 87 

Taken for home consumption and by Baltimore manu- 
facturers and re-packers 2,247 

Shipments of Virginia and Kentucky of Baltimore 

inspection 30 

31,670 

Stock December 31, 1892 4,788 

STOCK DIVIDED. 

Md. Ohio. Va., Ky. 

Firsthand 63 203 

Shippers 2,837 218 

Manufacturers 482 932 53 

Total 3,382 1,353 53 

Cotton. The cotton receipts of Baltimore, though considerable, are 
hardly of the magnitude to be expected from so favorable a point of 
export. Local storage and compressing facilities are excellent ; ocean 
freights are cheaper, and higher prices are obtained here than at more 
southern parts. With the extension and development of southern 
transportation facilities, it is probable that this trade will undergo 
marked expansion. The movements for the year ending August 31, 
1892, compared with those of the preceding year, are as follows : 

1892. 1891. 

Gross receipts, bales 386,205 281,570 

Add stock carried over 5,500 200 

Total 391,705 281,770 

DISTRIBUTION. 

1892. 1891. 

Exported, Great Britain 128,962 78,742 

Continent 154,678 93,374 

France 7,611 13,774 

Coastwise and spinners' takings 89,266 90,380 

Destroyed by fire 1,288 

Stock on hand, August 31 9,900 5,500 

The chief articles of export in addition to the above are : provisions, 
copper, oils, lumber, oil cake, seeds and whiskey. The principal items 
included under the head of provisions are lard, beef (canned and fresh), 
tallow, bacon and pork. For the fiscal year 1892, these items formed a 
total amount of 146,996,099 pounds, valued at $11,188,685. Extensive 



330 MARYLAND. 

copper mines and works in Montana and Arizona are controlled by Balti- 
more interests, and the entire output is marketed in Baltimore. Nearly 
twenty thousand tons of the matte, valued at $2,713,767, were exported in 
1892, in addition to 11,806,294 pounds of ingots, valued at $1,467,288. 
Among exported oils, petroleum, lubricating and cottonseed are the most 
important. Olio to the value of $771,646 was sent abroad in 1892. In 
addition to the enormous quantity of lumber received for local consump- 
tion — some seventy million feet in 1892— exports in boards, staves and 
logs during the year aggregated one and a half million dollars. Oil cake 
added a value of $1,027,877; timothy and clover seed, $736,031, and 
whiskey, $512,983. 

Coffee. For almost a century Baltimore has been a leading centre 
for the importation and distribution of coffee. The supremacy of the 
Baltimore clipper led to the early development of the trade, and it has 
since been maintained by long established firms. For a series of years 
the volume of imports decreased with the keen competition of other 
seaboard cities, but the normal tendency has more recently begun to 
assert itself. During 1892, trade was larger and more profitable than for 
some years past. The volume of imports aggregated 183,458 bags as 
against 166,689 in 1891, showing an increase of 16.769 bags. Aside from 
the benefits arising from intimate acquaintance with the trade, Balti- 
more possesses certain definite advantages as a favorable point of import. 
These consist in advantageous location, involving lower rates for interior 
shipment, ample facilities for receipt and distribution, and extraordi- 
narily low terminal charges. This latter point is especially deserving of 
emphasis, — careful estimates showing an advantage of nearly fifty per 
cent, in favor of Baltimore as against other Atlantic seaports. 

Fruit, etc. A fleet of vessels is engaged in the fruit trade between 
Baltimore and the West Indies. Pineapples, cocoanut and bananas are 
largely imported for home consumption and general distribution. In 
1892 imports under this head aggregated $607,746, as against $541,077 in 
1891. Baltimore is one of the largest manufacturing centres of fertilizers 
in the country, and hence a heavy importer of chemicals— soda ash, 
brimstone, muriate of potash, nitrate of soda, etc. The volume of 
imports is further swelled by iron ore, 421,712 tons (1892); tin plate, 
52,004,521 pounds (1892); sugar, 15,599,263 pounds (1892). 

The extent of Baltimore commerce is further shown in the following 
statement of the tonnage movement and number of immigrants landed 
at the port for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892 : 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 



331 



TONNAGE MOVEMENT. 



Nationality. 


Sail. 


Steam. 


Total. 


No. 


Tons. 


No. 


Tons. 


No. 


Tons. 




166 
20 


52,638 
6,551 

271 
9,248 
1,501 


9 
531 

1 

5 
59 

1 
44 

3 


2,701 
846,719 
1,198 
10,009 
162,320 
1,324 
23,829 
5,059 


175 
551 
1 
5 
60 
14 
46 
3 


55,339 

853,270 
1,198 






Dutch 




10,009 




1 
IS 

a 


162,591 




10,572 




25,330 




5,059 








Total for 1893 


202 
203 


70,209 
78,994 


653 

414 


1,053,159 
627,761 


855 

617 




" 1891 


















1,153 
1,215 




" " 1891 













*59 per cent, increase. 



Nationality. 


Sail. 


Steam. 


Total. 


No. of 
Vessels. 


Tons. 


No. of 
Vessels. 


Tons. 


No. of 
Vessels. 


Tons. 




147 
18 

1 
2 
3 


51,817 
6,205 

271 
1,121 
2,021 


7 
627 

1 
23 
97 

44 
5 


714 

1,004,474 

1,198 

44,521 

239,052 

24,324 
8,217 


154 

645 

1 

23 
98 

47 
5 


52,531 
1,010,679 
1,198 
44,521 
239,323 
1,121 
26,345 


Dutch 




8,217 


Total for 1892 


171 
185 


61,435 

55,677 


804 
523 


1,322,500 
849,538 


975 
708 


«1,383,935 
905,215 


" 1891 
















1,909 
1,930 


1,524,602 


" " 1891 




1,501,158 









"53 per cent, increase. 



332 



Argentine Republic. 

Austria 

Belgium 

Bohemia 

British West Indies. 

Denmark 

England 

France 

Germany 

Hungary 

Ireland 

Italy 

Netherlands 

Norway 

Poland 

Portugal 

Roumania 

Russia 

Scotland 

Sweden 

Switzerland 

Turkey in Europe . . 



MARYLAND. 
IMMIGRATION. 



Nationality. 



Totals 

Passengers not immigrants 



Grand total, 1892. 
Grand total, 1891. 



1 

3,922 

3 

1,101 

7 

164 

18? 

13 

17,080 

1.864 

51 



25 

517 

2 

10 

6,644 

5 

172 



30,845 



1 

1,021 

5 

113 

125 

11 

16,667 

734 



47 
19 

153 



2 
131 

15 



4 

2,122 

12 

277 

312 

24 

33,747 

2,598 

117 

2 

107 

44 

670 

2 

16 

11,010 



65,823 
1,500 



57,323 
42,004 



CUMBERLAND. 

Some idea of the causes of Cumberland's immense trade, and advan- 
tages as a distributive point, may be better comprehended after a brief 
description of its railroads and the country through which they form 
channels for the outlet of the products of the farm, forest and mines. 
For what may be known as local distribution, it has several distinct 
roads. The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad with its branches 
runs up through the mining region, and taps the towns of Eckhart, Mt. 
Savage, Frostburg, Lonaconing and Piedmont, whose aggregate popula- 
tion is over 15,000 souls, all living within twenty-eight miles of Cumber- 
land. The George's Creek and Cumberland Railroad reaches Lonaconing 
by another route. The Piedmont and Cumberland, an extension of the 
West Virginia Central and Pittsburg, parallels the Baltimore and Ohio 
through one of the most fertile of Allegany county's agricultural districts, 
and at Piedmont connects with the parent line. This opens up for one 
hundred and twenty-two miles the vast timber lands and gas coal regions 
of West Virginia. For the shipment of merchandise and coal to the 
large eastern and western markets, there are the main stem of the 
Baltimore and Ohio, the Pittsburg and Connellsville, and the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroads, which last road obtains an entrance to the city over the 
tracks of the State line branch of the George's Creek and Cumberland 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 333 

Road. Added to this, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which has its 
western terminus in this city, affords direct connection with tidewater at 
Georgetown, D. C. 

"With all these facilities the expeditious handling of freight is, com- 
paratively speaking, an easy matter. With Cumberland as an entrepot, 
immense quantities of merchandise are received and distributed over the 
different lines mentioned. The express business for the months of 
October, November and December of 1892 shows over a million and a half 
of pounds received and forwarded. The United States Express Company 
handled 733,457, the Adams Express Company 437,976, and the Cumber- 
land and Pennsylvania Express Company 532,000 pounds. 

The freight handled, exclusive of coal, for the same period by the 
Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad amounted to 135,195,708 pounds; that 
handled by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania was 53,420,000 pounds; by 
the West Virginia Central, over the Piedmont and Cumberland, 92,703,436 
pounds; by the Pennsylvania Railroad, to and from Cumberland, 68,435,433 
pounds. To recapitulate, the tonnage of the express and freight business 
done in Cumberland during the months of October, November and 
December of 1892 was as follows : 

United States Express 736,457 

Adams 437,978 

O. &P 532,000 



Total 1,706,433 

The freight handled, exclusive of coal, for the same period, was- 

Baltimore and Ohio 138,271,094 

Cumberland and Pennsylvania 53,420,000 

West Virginia Central 92,703,436 

Pennsylvania Railroad 68,435,433 



Total 352,829,963 



Total pounds of express matter 1,706,433 

Total pounds of freight matter 352,829,963 



Grand total 354,536,396 

From the trade for the last three months of 1892, some conception of 
the annual business carried on may be formed. This tonnage, it must be 
remembered, is wholly made up of merchandise ; coal, the most important 
article of distribution, does not enter into it at all. The statistics of the 
Cumberland coal trade, which are published annually, report an output 
from the twenty-nine companies engaged in mining, of over four mil- 
lions of tons for 1892, and the employment of every railroad entering 
Cumberland in their removal to the seaboard. 



334 MARYLAND. 

The number of tons mined, and the tonnage delivered by the 
different railroads to Cumberland, and there distributed, was as follows : 

FROM— ToB.&O.R.R.C.&O.Can. Penna.R.R. Local. Total. 

Cumberland & Pennsylvania R. R. . . . 1,343,905 93,705 214,011 83,089 1,734,710 

Eckhart Branch R. R 312,452 170,116 36,755 519,323 

George's Creek & Cumberland R. R... 208,112 568,003 28,202 804,317 

West Virginia Central Railway 345,987 3,080 423,472 198,675 971,214 

2,210,456 266,901 1,205,486 346,721 4,029,564 

The successful handling and disposition of this vast amount of 
freight places Cumberland in the front rank of cities of its size as an 
admirable distributive point. 

The West Virginia Central Railway is about to build an extension 
from Cumberland to Hagerstown, at which point it will connect with 
the Western Maryland Railroad, and will afford Cumberland another 
artery of commerce. Surveys have been made for another road to reach 
the rich agricultural communities or upper villages of the South Branch, 
and an extension of the electric railway of Cumberland through the 
entire mining portion of the county is also among near possibilities, a 
company having already been chartered and organized for this purpose. 

HAGERSTOWN. 

Any consideration of the trade and commerce of Hagerstown involves 
in large measure the trade of Washington county, of which it is the 
geographic as well as business centre. Before the construction and 
development of railroad systems, in the days of the " Conestoga Wagon" 
with its "bell team," wheat, the staple product of the county, was 
ground in local mills. For many years the county stood well in the lead 
in production of this cereal, and its numerous available streams placed 
ample mill power within easy reach of every section. The county seat 
being the banking centre, farmer and miller went there for the purchase 
and sale of the commodity, and the National road was the highway to 
market. The early development of a fine system of macadamized 
roads, radiating hence to every section of the country and affording easy 
transportation, in winter especially, tended still further to such concen- 
tration. When the railway development came, natural conditions led to 
the same centering and radiation, so that now there is no village or point 
within the county more than three or four miles distant from a railroad 
station. 

The Cumberland Valley Railroad, running from Harrisburg, Penn- 
sylvania, to Winchester, Virginia, crosses the whole width of the State 
here, a distance of twelve miles, and brings into close connection the 
whole of the Pennsylvania system. The Shenandoah division of the 
Norfolk and Western, beginning here, extends to Roanoke, Virginia, and 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 335 

by its local connection with the Cumberland Valley, puts the city upon 
the great inside highway from New York to New Orleans and Memphis 
in the southwest, and to all Florida points in the southeast. A road is 
now being constructed from here to Cumberland which will connect, at 
this point, the Cumberland Valley and the West Virginia Central, thus 
making a direct route to the seaboard for the immense coal and timber 
products of West Virginia. The Washington County branch of the 
Baltimore and Ohio, running southward twenty-four miles through the 
county, connects it closely with that great thoroughfare. 

The Western Maryland, striking the county at its northeast corner, 
traverses the greater part of its extent westward to its connection at 
Cherry Eun, West Virginia, with the main line of the Baltimore and 
Ohio. It touches the Potomac at Williamsport, and by its branch from 
the mountain foot at Edgemont, thence to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, 
connects with the Reading road, thus giving the advantage of close 
association with that extended system. There is thus secured to every 
smaller town, and to every section of the county, direct and frequent 
access to Hagerstown, and her distributive trade finds actual and active 
competition for transportation to every quarter, north, south, east and 
west. With twenty-eight passenger and express trains daily each way, 
it is not surprising that a large traffic has been developed in dairy 
products, fruit and poultry, for the markets of New York, Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Washington and Pittsburg are all within less than twelve 
hours from the city. 

Another phase of development, not immediately connected with 
Hagerstown, yet in part the outcome of its business enterprise and 
capital, and in large measure under the control of its citizens, is the peach 
industry. Along the slopes and foot hills of the mountains on either 
side, thousands of acres are now planted in peaches, and growing yearly 
in value. The crop of 1892, under the very adverse conditions attending 
it, exceeded a half million bushels, the whole of which was marketed in 
the eastern markets to private consumers, and not for canning, the 
quality being to growers of far greater moment than quantity. Under 
fair conditions it is expected that the crop of this year will greatly 
exceed a million bushels. As further indicating somewhat of the 
character and amount of its trade, may be noted these facts : The whole- 
sale grocery and notion trade, reaching from Baltimore to Wheeling, 
from Harrisburg to Roanoke, amounts annually ta over $1,000,000; the 
sale and shipment of beef, cattle, sheep and hogs, exceeds $600,000 ; of 
horses, $250,000; of hay, $100,000; of hardwoods, cut and in bulk, all 
exported, $175,000. Retail trade is represented in part by the annual 
sales of dry goods, $400,000; clothing, ready made, $150,000; custom 
made, a like amount; shoes and hats, $200,000; groceries, $500,000; 



336 MARYLAND. 

leather and its products, $75,000; hardware, $150,000; agricultural imple- 
ments, a large part of which, steam engines, threshers, clover hullers, 
etc., are made here, $150,000; fertilizers, $125,000; confectionery, $100,000. 
In the march of improvement the latest mill machinery has been 
introduced, and the manufacture and shipment of flour has also in large 
part centered here. From the four large roller mills and elevators in or 
controlled from the city, there is shipped as flour the product of about 
300,000 bushels of wheat annually; the shipments of corn aggregate 
100,000 bushels more. A large part, however, of the corn grown in the 
county is used in fattening cattle during the fall and winter, all being 
shipped from this point to Eastern markets, whence a part is exported 
directly to Liverpool. 

THE EASTERN SHORE. 

The Peninsula, comprising the Eastern Shores of Maryland and 
Virginia, and the State of Delaware, is about one hundred and seventy 
miles in length from north to south, and about sixty-five miles in width 
from east to west at its widest part. It is bounded on the east by the 
Delaware River and Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south and 
west by the Chesapeake Bay. It is so penetrated on all sides by numer- 
ous navigable rivers, creeks and inlets, that it has been said that there 
are few farms, towns, or dwellings on the Eastern Shore of Maryland 
more than five miles from navigable water. This fact, with the smooth 
level roads, renders the matter of transportation by water a simple ques- 
tion. At the same time the absence of mountains and high hills, and 
the rarity of stone and rock, render the construction of railroads inex- 
pensive. The railroads of the peninsula are, with two exceptions, so 
closely connected in organization, that no intelligible account of the 
railroads on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is possible without reference 
to those of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. 

The Peninsula is traversed from north to south by a line of railroad, 
a part of which is controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad system. The 
Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad begins near Wilmington, 
Delaware, and runs through the State of Delaware, nearly parallel with 
the Maryland line, to Delmar (ninety-five miles). From this point the 
New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Road runs through Maryland and 
Virginia to Cape Charles City, a distance of ninety-five miles (thirty- 
seven miles in Maryland). At Cape Charles City, connection is made by 
ferry with Norfolk, (twenty miles). These two roads make a continuous 
first-class road running from the extreme north to the extreme south of 
the Peninsula; and through trains make the run from Cape Charles City 
to Philadelphia in six and a half hours. 



COMMERCE AND TRANSPORTATION. 337 

These roads are practically operated as a part of the Pennsylvania 
system. Connected with them, are a number of smaller tributary roads, 
also owned or controlled and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. 
Beginning on the Chesapeake side and with the most northerly, the 
Queen Anne and Kent Railroad runs from Centreville, the county town 
of Queen Anne's county, northeasterly through Queen Anne's and Kent 
counties to Massey's (twenty-five miles), connecting at that point with 
the Baltimore and Delaware Bay Railroad, and also with a branch of the 
Delaware Division, Pennsylvania Railroad, running from Townsend, in 
Delaware, to Massey's (nine miles). The Delaware and Chesapeake 
Railroad begins at Oxford, in Talbot county, and runs northeasterly 
through Talbot and Caroline counties to Clayton, Delaware (fifty-four 
miles, of which forty are in Maryland). The Cambridge and Seaford 
Road, running from Cambridge, in Dorchester county, northeasterly to 
Seaford, Delaware (twenty-seven miles, about twenty-two miles in Mary- 
land), connecting at Seaford with the Delaware Division. The Crisfield 
Branch of the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad begins at 
Crisfield, in Wicomico county, rims northeast to Peninsula Junction 
(seventeen miles) in the same county, connecting at that point with the 
New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad. On the Atlantic side, the 
Delaware, Maryland and Virginia Road begins at Franklin City, on 
Chincoteague Sound, in Virginia, near the Maryland line, and runs 
northerly, parallel with the Atlantic, to the Maryland line, and through 
Delaware, connecting with the Delaware Division at Harrington (seventy- 
eight miles, thirty-five miles in Maryland). These roads furnish 
excellent facilities for the transportation of freight and passengers to 
Philadelphia and points on the Pennsylvania system, all of them having 
two trains daily each way. 

The Peninsula is traversed from east to west by the Baltimore and 
Delaware Bay Railroad, as yet unfinished. It begins at Bombay Hook on 
the Delaware Bay, at which point it connects with the New Jersey 
Central by ferry, and runs in a westerly direction, crossing and connecting 
with the Delaware Division at Clayton, and when finished will extend to 
Rock Hall, in Kent county, Maryland. It has been finished from Bombay 
Hook to Chestertown (forty-two miles), with a branch to Nicholson (nine 
miles — thirty-three miles in Maryland). It has been graded to within 
about four miles of Rock Hall, and will probably be finished in the 
course of this year. Rock Hall is immediately opposite the Patapsco 
river, and the nearest harbor on the Eastern Shore to Baltimore. From 
this point connection will be made by ferry with Baltimore (about 
eighteen miles). At present the road is operated from Clayton to Ches- 
tertown only. It is owned by parties interested in the New Jersey 
Central Railroad. 
22 



338 MARYLAND. 

The Baltimore and Eastern Shore Railroad begins at Ocean City, a 
summer resort on the Atlantic coast, and runs northwesterly through 
Maryland to Claiborne, on Eastern Bay, a tributary of the Chesapeake 
(eighty-seven miles). From this point connection is made by boat with 
Baltimore (forty-two miles). This road is in the hands of a receiver, but 
is now in process of reorganization. The plan of reorganization includes 
the extension of the road from Easton, north through Talbot and Queen 
Anne's county, and Kent county to Centreville, Chestertown and Rock 
Hall, connecting at that point by ferry with Baltimore. 

The number of manufactures or industrial enterprises on the Eastern 
Shore is limited. The people are engaged chiefly in farming, fishing and 
oystering. The country is naturally very fertile. It is level or rolling, 
has no large hills and no stone, and it is easily cultivated. Its agricul- 
tural products are chiefly wheat, corn and the other cereals and fruit. 
Large quantities of peaches, pears and other fruit are raised. Though 
possessing exceptional facilities for the raising of stock, this industry 
does not exist to any great extent. Attention has recently been called to 
the advantages of the Eastern Shore as a health resort, and there is 
already some travel to the locality for this reason. The freight carried 
by the roads consists, in addition to passenger business, of products of 
the farms and water. Large quantities of grain, fruit, oysters, fish and 
game are shipped to the North and West over these railroads, the return 
freight being chiefly coal, lumber and the usual requirements of a farm- 
ing and fishing population. 



CHAPTER X. 



MANUFACTURES. 



The history of colonial Maryland is essentially that of an agricultural 
community. Throughout the seventeenth and far into the eighteenth 
centuries " tobacco is king." It not only dominated all economic activi- 
ties, but even entered into the details of social and political life. The 
commercial policy of England fostered its cultivation, as tending to 
preserve in her possessions an exclusive market for British manufac- 
tures. This fact, aided somewhat later by actual measures of repression, 
served to prevent any general industrial activity in provincial Maryland. 
Yet the natural advantages of mineral wealth and motive power could 
not be entirely suppressed. Iron-works were opened along the Patapsco 
river as early as 1715, and the regular exportation of pig-iron began in 
1717. Thrifty German settlers, a little later, introduced the beginnings of 
wool and flax spinning, and the manufacture of linen and woolen goods. 
Numerous flour mills were attracted by the excellent sites along Jones' 
Falls, Gwynn's Falls and the Patapsco river, and this industry more 
perhaps than any other single cause, contributed to the early growth of 
Baltimore. 

In 1769 a non-importation association was organized, and extended 
throughout the province. The discredit thus thrown upon the whole 
line of British manufactures, culminated five years later in a system of 
practical non- intercourse with Great Britain, and for a term of years the 
colonists were thrown largely upon their own resources. Varied branches 
of manufacture sprang up, and the province tended rapidly to become 
self-supporting. In 1778 we find in active operation linen, woolen, card 
and nail factories, paper and slitting mills and bleach-yards. The first 
sugar refinery was established in Baltimore in 1784, and five years later 
the manufacture of glass was introduced. A considerable number of 
flour mills, iron furnaces, cotton mills and tanneries were in successful 
operation in different parts of the State. 

The industrial development of Maryland during the next half century 
is gradual, but substantial. Commerce and shipping, rather than manu- 
factures, engage general attention; yet Baltimore steadily becomes a 



340 MARYLAND. 

leading centre for sugar refining, cotton duck manufacture, flour milling 
and metal production. In other directions progress is less marked, 
but everywhere the substructure is laid for the activity of later times. 
The new era may be said to have begun with the industrial revival 
following the close of the late war, and has ever since proceeded with 
rapid strides and over a widening area. 

In industrial opportunity Baltimore is unsurpassed among American 
cities, and younger centres invite development in every section of the 
State. Geographical position and railroad connection afford special 
opportunities in the procurement of raw materials and the distribution 
of products. Interior situation confers great advantages upon the harbors 
of the State as favorable ports of entry. Healthful climate, cheap living, 
low rents, skilled labor, tax exemptions, favored sites, water frontage, 
motive power, are among the special attractions that invite manufacturing 
industries of all kinds. 

BALTIMORE. 

In these days of forced urban development, it is common for every 
new manufacturing town to claim extraordinary advantages as an 
industrial centre. Far-sighted men, however, recognize that the struggle 
for existence is nowhere fought out more relentlessly than in the 
commercial world; and that those cities which have attained industrial 
prominence by slow development and by force of natural advantages are 
far more inviting, other things being equal, than those which have been 
forced into temporary importance by artificial methods. 

INDUSTRIAL ADVANTAGES. 

The advantages which Baltimore offers as a manufacturing centre 
consist in natural location, in peculiar economic conditions, and in the 
liberal policy of its municipal administration. Reference has already 
been made to the advantages conferred by favored geographical situation 
and the establishment of direct lines of communication. In the case of 
Baltimore, closer proximity by several hundred miles to the great cotton 
belt of the South, to the grain-growing sections of the West, and to the 
wood, coal and iron wealth of the interior, affords cheap and easy access 
to the supplies required for industries of every kind. The labor supply 
is steady and efficient. As compared with New York and Philadelphia or 
Boston, skilled mechanics receive from twenty-five cents to one dollar a 
day less in building and iron industries, and seventy-five cents to one 
dollar and a-half less as compared with Chicago, St. Louis and Minne- 
apolis. Unskilled labor is available at from one dollar to one dollar and 
a-half per day. This difference in labor cost does not involve lower 
efficiency or poorer living. In no other city of similar size in the 



MANUFACTURES. 



341 



country are the laboring classes better off. The proximity of a rich and 
productive country, the cheapness of water transportation, and the 
economy of domestic distribution through public markets, combine to 
render the cost of living in Baltimore less than in cities of much smaller 
size. The cheapness of house rents in Baltimore is notorious. Neat and 
comfortable dwellings in respectable neighborhoods may be rented at 
fifteen and eighteen dollars a month, and houses in more favored sections 
with many conveniences can be had for twenty-five dollars a month. 
Handsome dwellings, desirably located and fitted with all modern 
appointments, may be rented for forty dollars a month. The supply of 
water available for manufacturing purposes is unlimited and furnished 
at a nominal rate. Desirable manufacturing sites can be obtained with 
or without water frontage, and plants as erected are exempted by special 
ordinance from municipal taxation. 



nSTDXJSTKIES. 

The manufacturing interests of Baltimore include almost every 
important industry. The city is the largest manufacturing centre in the 
United States of ready-made clothing, oyster canning and fruit packing, 
shirts and overalls, fertilizers, straw goods and cotton duck, while its 
operations in other directions are absolutely even of greater magnitude. 
The statistics of important industries as returned by the Eleventh 
Census are as follows : *" 

i.* 



Industries. 



Capital 
Employed, 



Wages 
Paid. 



number of 

Hands 
Employed 



Materials 
used. 



Miscellan- 
eous 
Expenses. 



Goods < 
Manufactf 
ured. 



Brass Casting ' 

Clothing 

Fertilizers 

Iron Foundries 

Oyster and Fruit Canning 

Liquors, distilled 

Liquors, malt 

Drugs and Medicines 

Slaughtering and Meat Packing . 
Tobacco 



$ 1,689,428 
11,897,563 
4,163,347 

5,041,767 
3,226,416 
1,421,225 
4,924,988 
975,725 
1,153,856 
4,208,451 



> 663,056 
4,178,971 



1,837. 

1,886. 

94; 

532! 

246. 

225, 
1,240, 



1,187 

13,(191 

638 

3,436 

8,990 
146 
690 
698 
421 

3,242 



785,852 
1,120,981 
1,566,577 
,789,085 
.,369,261 
683,861 
508,482 
'779,251 
1,668,147 
1,522,336 



$ 30,745 
408,258 
197,316 
235,833 
141,023 

1,029,220 
963,062 
290,599 
75,232 

1,260,387 



$1,903,850 
15,032,924 
3,957,345 
4,718,189 
8,516,799 
2,085,560 
3,825,174 
1,947,950 
4,311,412 
5,906,333 



Percentages of Increase. 



Number of establishments reported. 

Capital invested 

Number of hands employed 

Wages paid 

Cost of materials used 

Value of product at work 



35.22 
104.63 

40.39 
121.83 

44.27 

69.19 



^Compiled from Census Bulletin, No. ! 



342 



MARYLAND. 



The following additional statistics are published through the 
courtesy of Superintendent Robert P. Porter, of the Census Office. They 
are preliminary in character, and subject to revision and correction 
before final publication : 

ii. 



A 


Capital. 




(a) 


8*a 




49 


8 938,514 


26 


1,941,089 


98 


908,474 


10 


492,957 


11 


1,008,048 


26 


1,222,444 


IK 


724,457 


12 


203,788 


81 


1,780,101 


6 


59,075 


12 


469,357 


4 


1,063,987 


11 


32,243 


127 


1,696,184 


18 


418,400 


19 


1,256,422 


11 


648,908 


55 


1,164,457 


4 


183,800 



Miscellan-tS 
eons """'«<=i 

Expenses.; n&n ^ 



j Cost 
Wages. of 

(Materials. 



Boots and shoes(ft) 

Brick and tile 

Confectionery 

Clay and pottery products 

Flouring and grist mills 

Furniture(c) 

Hats & caps, not including wool hats. 

Leather, tanned and curried 

Lumber(j) 

Millinery and lace goods 

Paints and oils(d) 

Pianos(e) 

Musical instruments(fc) 

Printing and publishing (/) 

Shirts, factory products 

Shipbuilding 

Steel(#) 

Marble and stone work(A) 

Lithographing and engraving 



38,605 

137,780 
98,532 
8,804 

153,009 
76,038 
86,672 
11,586 

121,118 
5,482 
17,944 

128,460 
3,596 

330,4811 
44,225 
91,343 
30,596 

169, SOD 
22,810 



1,334 

1,820 

854 

617 

240 

1,371 

843 

205 

1.243 

167 

117 

737 

50 

1,802 

1,311 

975 

320 

731 

197 



t 571,006 
547,067 
278,632 
261,713 
172,548 
647,786 
305,072 

90,185 
752,976 

53,038 

64,752 
532,160 

33,979 
1,117,208 
345,407 
610,410 
156,104 
461,805 
125,766 



$ 808,38S 

146,407 

1,198,219 

116,010 

2,775,120 

1,031,735 

607,580 

335,798 

1,819,479 

68,940 

200,041 

400,592 

26,948 

729,848 

596,993 

692,740 

473,271 

644,541 

98,331 



1,711,367 
1.055,508 
1,861.599 

500,625 
3,285,721 
2,056,419 
1,261,523 

455,818 
3,105,288 

155,500 

344,230 
1,291,165 
81,961 
2,826,356 
1,191,918 
1,640,317 

749,207 
1,571,945 

316,352 



(a) Does not include the value of hired property. 

(6) Includes returns classified by the Census Ofiice, as "boots and shoe uppers" and "boots and shoes, 
factory product." 

(c) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as "furniture, chairs," and "furniture, factory 
product." 

{d) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as "paints," and "oil, lubricating." 

(c) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as "musical instruments, pianos and materials." 

(/) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as " printing and publishing, book and job," and 
"printing and publishing, newspapers." 

(g) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as " iron and steel ; " " iron and steel, architect- 
ural ; " " iron and steel, bolts ; " " iron and steel, nails and spikes." 

(h) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as " marble and stone work " and " monuments 
and tomb stones." 

(j) Includes returns classified by the Census Office, as "lumber, planing mill products," "lumber 
from logs or bolt6." 

(k) Includes returns classified by the Census Office," as "musical instruments and materials not 
specified" and "musical instruments, organs and materials." 

Banking. The industrial development of any city is largely depend- 
ent upon the character and operations of its financial institutions. 
Baltimore banks are thoroughly in accordance with the growth and 
progress of the city and offer abundant facilities for mercantile trans- 
actions. The aggregate loans and discounts of the several national banks 
have increased nearly one hundred per cent, within a period of twenty 
years. The operations of State banks, banking and trust companies, 
contribute to make the result even more remarkable ; and the wisdom 
and fidelity with which these institutions are managed is shown by the 



MANUFACTURES. 



343 



fact that no chartered bank has failed in Baltimore within a period of 
sixty years. The development and resources of these institutions" is 
indicated in the following statement of the operations of the national 
banks of Baltimore and of the increase in bank clearances within a term 
of years : 





Number. 


Capital. 


Surplus. 


Loans 
and Discounts. 


Deposits. 


1870 


13 
15 
19 


$10,891,985 00 
10,890,130 00 
12,313,260 00 
13,243,312 00 


§2,679,883 57 
3,316,851 43 
4,975,346 75 
5,374,626 69 


$17,069,159 92 
23,808,488 16 
31,727,650 32 
31,964,550 51 


$13,215,291 03 
20,884,184 47 


1880 


1890 


29,748,822 45 


1892 


28,174,838 45 







BANK CLEARANCES. 

.$616,303,898 35 1890 $753,095,193 24 

.659,346,47155 1891 735,714,652 00 

. 620,587,729 65 1892 769,355,890 00 

. 650,583,571 15 



Clothing. The industrial development of Baltimore is exemplified 
in the growth of its clothing manufactures. Beginning some forty 
years ago, the trade assumed large proportions for a period, then 
suffered severely from the loss of southern and western business during 
the war, and finally entered upon a course of growth and expansion that 
has continued uninterrupted to the present day. The census of 1890 
returned one hundred and twenty-five establishments engaged in whole- 
sale manufacture, at least forty of which are organized for production 
upon a large scale. The products vary in character from the highest 
grades of merchant clothing, to the cheapest and plainest wares. 
Distribution is general, though the chief makets are m the south and 
southwest. 

Canned Goods. All the world over Baltimore is famed as a great 
centre for the canning of oysters and the packing and preserving of 
vegetables and fruits. Some of the largest establishments in the country 
are located here and Baltimore brands command a wide market. The 
local oyster pack in 1892 aggregated five and one-half million bushels, 
although as a result of superior distributive facilities, almost the entire 
product of Chesapeake Bay is marketed here. Crisfield, Cambridge, 
Oxford, St. Michael's and Annapolis follow Baltimore in about the order 
named, as important oyster canning centres. During the summer months 
most of the canning establishments engage in vegetable and fruit 
packing. Immense quantities of corn, tomatoes and green peas, drawn 
largely from adjacent counties and the Eastern Shore, are so consumed, 
berries, peaches and pine-apples, of which more than a half million 
dozen were imported in 1892, form the favorite fruits. Distribution, as 



344 



MARYLAND. 



before stated, is very general, reaching throughout this country, and 
into every quarter of the globe. The packing industry has also made 
Baltimore an important centre for the manufacture of tin cans, about 
fifty million pieces being annually produced. 

Tobacco. The proximity to Virginia, North Carolina and the jjreat 
tobacco regions of the country, together with a large domestic produc- 
tion, has made Baltimore a leading centre for manufactured tobacco. In 
smoking tobacco, its production exceeds that of any other city in the 
United States, and it is a large producer of cigars and cigarettes. Distri- 
bution is largely in the Western and Northwestern states, and throughout 
the South. The extent of the industry is shown in the following statistics 
for the year ending December, 1892: 

Number of Cigar Factories in district 808 

" Tobacco Factories in district 24 

" Snuff Factories in district 6 

11 Pounds of Tobacco manufactured 9,872,270 

" Snuff manufactured 1,759,848 

" Fine Cut manuf actured 532,641 

" Leaf worked for cigars 2,072,270 

" Leaf worked for Cigarettes 158,823 

" Cigars manufactured 109,046,916 

" Cigarettes manufactured 31,742,976 

" Pounds of Sumatra Leaf imported at the rate 

of $2.00 per pound 61,406 

" Pounds Havana Leaf imported at the rate of 

35 cents per pound 249,368 

" Pounds Leaf Tobacco exported 54,306,880 

" " Stems Tobacco exported 10,068,634 

Iron Foundries. Under the head of foundries and machine shops 
are classed a large number of extensive establishments engaged in the 
manufacture of structural iron, heating' apparatus, machine tools, stoves, 
elevators, guns, power-transmission machinery, steam engines and safes. 
The operations of these firms extend over a wide territory, and their 
products enjoy a high reputation. One firm makes a specialty of heating 
apparatus and gas works, and has erected wholly or in part, gas plants 
in New York, Chicago, Brooklyn, St. Paul, Norfolk, Rochester, as well as 
in Cuba and South America. A second is extensively engaged in the 
manufacture of special machinery, and possesses unusual facilities for 
the manufacture of machine-moulded gearing. A third devotes particu- 
lar attention to elevators and hoisting machinery, and a fourth to safes 
and vaults. Many other firms are engaged in the general manufacture of 
ornamental and other iron work for architectural purposes, and in the 
preparation of special machinery. Baltimore has been the pioneer in 
the manufacture of the loom for weaving cotton duck, to which her 
reputation for the superiority of cotton products is largely due. Other 



MANUFACTURES. 345 

important forms of machinery have been devised and developed here, 
notably the linotype machine. 

Fertilizers. Baltimore is in advance of all American cities in the 
manufacture of fertilizers. In 1832 the first guano was imported from 
Peru for local use ; soon after the manufacture of a fertilizer from 
crushed bone was begun, the product being sold to farmers of the adjacent 
counties. Maryland furnishes a great amount of burnt lime for agricul- 
tural purposes; its soil also contains large deposits of marl. But most 
of the raw materials used in this manufacture come from external 
sources. The phosphate rock from South Carolina is the most important 
source of phosphoric acid. The necessary nitrogen or ammonia is 
derived from tankage, ground-crackling and similar refuse from the 
great slaughter houses- of the We^st, other sources being bones, fish 
scraps and bone black. Large quantities of natural guano are brought 
to Baltimore from the great deposits at Navassa Island. The potash 
used in fertilizers is obtained almost entirely from Europe, its most 
important source being the mineral kainite, largely imported from 
Germany. 

Ship-Building. In the earlier years of the century Baltimore was 
renowned for her ship-yards, and " Baltimore clippers " were famed all 
over the world. As the sailing vessels were replaced to a great extent by 
steamers, iron taking the place of wood in the construction, this industry 
for a while declined ; but she is now rapidly regaining her position as a 
ship-building centre. During the past year, sixty-one vessels of an 
aggregate net tonnage of 17,277 tons were launched from local 
ship-yards. The largest establishment is located on a tract of land 
adjoining Fort McHenry. The two steam ferry boats, Robert Garrett 
and Erastus Wiman, plying between New York and Staten Island, and 
the new ice boat Annapolis represent the work of this establishment. 
The United States gunboat Petrel was turned out in 1889, and in the 
following year the oil-tank steamer Maverick was completed, the first 
vessel of the kind built on this side of the Atlantic. The United States 
cruisers Detroit and Montgomery are the most important products of the 
establishment. The activity of the Marine Department of the Maryland 
Steel Company is described in another place. A number of other ship- 
yards for construction and repair work are in successful operation. 

Flour Mills. Baltimore flour mills are among the most productive 
on the Atlantic seaboard. Six large mills are in operation, two of which 
are in the city, and four in suburban towns. Although some of these 
date from almost the foundation of Baltimore, the modern process of 
crushing and sifting, known as the roller system, has been introduced, 
and flour of the highest grade is turned out. The local supply of wheat 
is drawn from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and 



346 MARYLAND. 

Delaware, and the output is used for home consumption, for export to 
Brazil and the West Indies, and for distribution throughout the South. 
The mills combined have a daily capacity of nearly three thousand 
barrels. Baltimore enjoys peculiar advantages as a milling centre. Not 
only is Maryland and Virginia wheat rich in all properties necessary for 
producing flour of the highest grade, but the immense volume of grain 
poured in from the West permits the choice of the finest varieties from 
every wheat-growing State. 

Liquors. A number of breweries are in active operation, which not 
only provide for the home consumption, but supply a wide external 
market. Baltimore beer may now be found in all sections of the country, 
and it is estimated that the trade is increasing at the rate of about ten 
per cent, per annum. The flourishing condition of the industry, and the 
possibility of its further extension, have in the last few years attracted 
foreign capital, and large investments have been made. Several entirely 
new plants of model design and equipment have been recently erected. 
A number of distilleries are also operated, the product selling largely in 
the South and the Southwest, as well as at home ; and this industry has 
considerably increased in the last few years. 

Lumber. Eailroads and steamship lines bring annually to Baltimore 
large quantities of woods from the West and South; hard woods and 
white pines from West Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arkansas, Indiana 
and Ohio ; yellow pine from Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and 
Pennsylvania. The total receipts for local consumption aggregated in 
1892 about ninety million feet. The value of timber exported during 
the fiscal year 1891-1892 was $1,467,970. Some twenty-five wholesale 
and thirty retail dealers are engaged in the trade, together with fifteen 
manufacturers of packing boxes, and eleven planing mills, sash, door and 
blind factories. The activity of all these establishments has been 
stimulated by the great increase in building during the past few years. 
The larger manufacturers and wholesale dealers control independent 
mills in the South and West, from which direct shipments are made. 

Furniture. Every conceivable variety of furniture, from the simplest 
office-fixture to the most elaborate drawing-room equipment, is manu- 
factured in Baltimore. The expansion of this industry is due partly to 
the natural location of the city and the cheapness of raw materials, 
partly to the efficiency of the labor supply. Large quantities of oak, maple, 
walnut, poplar, pine, ash, cherry, rosewood and mahogany are annually 
consumed. These supplies are drawn from the West, and to an increasing 
extent from the South. Distribution takes place over a wide area. Of 
the middling and cheaper grades, the South takes the largest quantity, 
while the higher grades are sent to every part of the country. The 
home demand for expensive goods in mahogany and rosewood forms a 



MANUFACTURES. 347 

considerable item, while the remaining proportion of hardwoods is 
consumed largely in the adjacent States. 

Drugs. In this line of business Baltimore is the leading market of 
the South, both for manufacture and distribution. Raw chemicals, such 
as muriatic, nitric and sulphuric acids, sulphate of ammonia, saltpetre 
and bichromate of potash, are extensively produced. A great part of the 
output is used in the home market in the manufacture of fertilizers and 
drugs ; the remainder is taken by the Southern and Middle States. A 
large market has also been created for patent or proprietary medicines 
of local manufacture. 

Brass Casting. Brass founding and finishing forms one of Balti- 
more's most successful industries. The goods produced are of two 
general classes, the first consisting of steam, water and gas fixtures and 
plumber's supplies; the second, of church bells and chimes. The long 
establishment and successful operation of this industry has created a 
supply of skilled and intelligent labor. Particularly in the production 
of church bells has Baltimore attained prominence. One of the works 
covers six acres of ground, and is, probably, the largest establishment of 
its kind in the world. The peal of Baltimore bells may be heard in 
places as far removed as China, Burmah, India, Japan, Liberia, Turkey, 
Egypt, Brazil, Cuba,- Jamaica, England, Bulgaria, Mexico, throughout 
Canada and the British Provinces, and in every State of the Union. 

Shoes. The shoe and leather interests of Baltimore fall naturally 
into two classes, distributive or jobbing establishments and productive or 
manufacturing industries. As a distributing centre for boots and shoes, 
this is one of the largest and closest markets in the country. The 
sources of supply are New England, home manufactures and to a slight 
extent, New York and Pennsylvania. Sales are made largely in the 
South. A review of the market for the five years ending in 1891 shows 
an increased distribution of thirty per cent.; this, in face of growing 
competition and erection of new factories in all parts of the country. 

Copper Refining. For many years Baltimore has been the leading 
centre in the United States for copper refining. Inexhaustible mines in 
Arizona and Montana are controlled and managed by local interests, and 
their entire product is shipped to Baltimore either for treatment in the 
extensive works located at Canton or for shipment abroad. The principal 
business of the works at Canton is the refining of the ore destined for 
consumption in this country. This is brought direct from the smelter in 
Montana to the reducing plant — twenty-five hundred miles by rail — in 
bulk, without transfer, in the form of matte of sixty per cent, copper, 
and is here treated in reverberatory furnaces, converted into refined ingot 
copper, and sold for use in every State in the Union. It goes into all 
forms of brass and bronze castings. In 1891, over thirty-two million 



348 MARYLAND. 

pounds of this refined copper, known the world over as the "Baltimore 
Brand," were turned out. Besides the pure copper, a large quantity of 
copper sulphate or blue vitriol is produced, the sulphuric acid used in 
the manufacture being also made here. 

Bricks and Tiles. This industry has already been spoken of under 
the subject of Clay, in the chapter treating of mineral products. Balti- 
more pressed bricks have for many years enjoyed high reputation, and 
shipments are now made to every part of the country. The Baltimore 
clays are also suitable for terra cotta and roofing tile manufactures. 
Large plants equipped with improved machinery produce a superior 
article for roofing purposes, and supply points throughout the north, 
west and south. Finer goods designed for house decoration rival the 
imported ware in both elegance of design and in perfection of finish. 

Potteries. There are in Baltimore five potteries, with twenty or 
more large kilns, employing about seven hundred and fifty men and 
women in making and decorating their wares. Baltimore products have 
attained a high reputation for artistic design and superior workmanship 
throughout the United States. Local clays are sufficiently fine and free 
from iron to be suited for the manufacture of the coarser grades of 
stoneware and pottery, while the three requsites for porcelain manufac- 
ture, flint (vein quartz), feldspar, and a fine clay, all occur in excellent 
quality within the limits of Maryland and the adjoining portions of 
Pennsylvania and Delaware. Flint is largely quarried in Harford, 
Carroll and Howard counties ; a useful soda feldspar is obtained near 
Rising Sun, Cecil county, and the best potash feldspar from Brandywine 
Summit, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. A few of the finer china clays 
come from Cornwall, England. Maryland coal is also unsurpassed for 
firing pottery kilns. 

Straw Hats. Baltimore has been identified with the manufacture of 
hats for more than a century. Down to the outbreak of the civil war, the 
city was a leading centre in the production of fur hats, and though there 
was a considerable falling off in this industry at the time, the close of 
the war was followed by the rise of a new enterprise — the manufacture 
of straw hats ; and the younger industry soon exceeded the older, both in 
number of establishments and amount of production: Baltimore has 
continued to enlarge and increase this trade, and is at present the leading 
city in the United States in the manufacture of the best class of straw 
hats. Nine manufacturing establishments are in active operation, with 
an aggregate capital of about six hundred thousand dollars. They give 
employment to about five hundred skilled male and seven hundred and 
fifty female operatives, and the annual product is estimated at upwards 
of three million dollars. 



MANUFACTURES. 349 

Cottun Duck. Baltimore is the largest manufacturing centre of 
cotton duck in the world, turning out about two-thirds of the entire 
amount produced in the United States. The village of Woodberry has 
been built up largely through this industry, and is its chief site. In 
addition to local plants, two or three more distant mills contribute to the 
Baltimore trade. The annual product aggregates some two million yards, 
giving employment to about five hundred people. Large quantities of 
yarn and twine are also produced. These goods are in demand in every 
quarter of the world. 

Shirts and Overalls. In the manufacture of shirts, drawers, overalls 
and white goods in general, Baltimore is probably the most important 
centre in the country. The industry has largely developed from modest 
beginnings and attained importance by the excellence of its products. 
One extensive establishment is devoted exclusively to the manufacture 
of night-shirts. A number of factories are engaged in the production of 
shirts and overalls and in the manufacture of drawers and cotton goods 

Confectionery. Baltimore confectionery has a wide reputation for 
purity and superiority of composition. Most of the establishments so 
engaged conduct in addition, a flourishing distributive trade in Mediter- 
ranean and West Indian imports. It is estimated that the total volume 
of business annually transacted in both of these lines aggregates some 
five million dollars. 

Other Industries. An immense jobbing trade in dry goods and 
notions is transacted by Baltimore establishments, largely with northern 
and adjacent States. Heavy importations are made, and the volume of 
business transacted in 1892 was estimated as exceeding thirty-five 
million dollars. Much of the stone, marble, granite and slate quarried 
in Maryland is made up or marketed in Baltimore. As the mineral 
resources of the State are being more fully developed, this industry is 
steadily increasing, and local marbles more generally used. Crockery 
and queensware are handled by a number of long-established firms. 
Supplies are largely imported, and Baltimore possesses great advantages 
as a port of entry for merchandise of this kind. Baltimore pianos and 
musical instruments in general, are widely and favorably known. One 
establishment employs some seven hundred men in the manufacture of 
pianos, famous for their delicacy and excellence. The demands of local 
boot and shoe factories have stimulated a large trade in leather; heavy 
shipments are also made to northern and eastern markets. Extensive 
tanneries in Maryland and Virginia are controlled by the larger dealers. 
Paints and oils are largely produced and distributed. Well-known 
brands of ready-mixed paints are prepared here, and the closely allied 
goods, window glass and paint brushes, are successfully manufactured. 
Baltimore is the leading distributing point of hardware and tinware 



350 MARYLAND. 

throughout the South. House furnishing goods are also manufactured. 
The supply of wooden and willow-ware is now almost entirely provided 
hy local factories instead of being drawn as hitherto from the Eastern 
states. The oldest lithographic establishment in the United States has 
its parent plant in Baltimore. Several establishments are now in opera- 
tion, producing work of the highest grade. Baltimore contributes more 
than one-half of the entire production of curled hair in the United 
States, and continues to increase her output in this direction. The city 
is also an important point of distribution for millinery throughout the 
South and West. 

Although the industrial activity of Baltimore is largely concentrated, 
flourishing manufactures are in operation in such suburban towns as 
Wetheredsville, Alberton, Granite, Laurel, Phoenix and Mount Washing- 
ton, and the present tendency seems towards the more general location 
of manufacturing establishments in the outskirts of the city. 

Sparrow's Point. The great works of the Maryland Steel Company 
at Sparrow's Point, on the north branch of the Patapsco, have been 
already described in the chapter on Mines and Minerals. 

Curtis Bay. An active industrial settlement has sprung up at Curtis 
Bay, on the north side of the Patapsco River, a few miles below the city. 
It embraces about fifteen hundred acres of land with an extensive water 
front. The water has an average depth of twenty-five feet, permitting 
vessels of large draught to discharge their cargoes in bulk. Important 
and varied industries, either established by local capital or attracted 
from without by the natural advantages and enterprising management of 
the place, have led to an extraordinary development within the last few 
years. A large sugar refinery has been erected, and is expected to bring 
back to Baltimore its early prestige in this industry. Extensive car 
works are in operation, employing some five hundred men and turning 
out fifteen new freight cars daily. Nut and bolt factories, an iron 
foundry, machine shops and a barrel factory are also in operation. A 
large rolling-mill is in process of erection. Several hundred neat and 
substantial brick houses have been erected to meet the demands of the 
growing population, while churches and schools give the locality all the 
best characteristics of a flourishing industrial centre. The Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad has, by means of a branch line, a tidewater terminus 
at Curtis Bay, thus securing direct connection with the railroads of the 
county. The settlement is also connected with Baltimore by an electric 
railway. 

Canton. Canton is the oldest and one of the most important 
industrial sections of the city, the corporation to which its present 
development is due, having been chartered in 1828. The property 
includes about twenty-three hundred acres of land, with an estimated 



MANUFACTURES. 351 

water front of thirty-two thousand feet and a water depth varying from 
sixteen to twenty-eight feet. It is divided by graded and paved streets 
into lots suitable for manufacturing and building purposes. The tide- 
water terminals of the Northern Central Bailway," comprising elevators, 
piers and docks, are located here, securing immediate connection with 
the entire Pennsylvania system. Canton is also traversed by the tracks 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; the Baltimore and Lehigh and the 
Western Maryland Railroads have access to the property. The industries 
located here are numerous and varied, including many of those to which 
reference has already been made. It is in particular the centre of the 
oyster canning and fruit packing trade, and is the seat of the extensive 
copper refineries and pottery works already described. Saw and planing 
mills, iron foundries, brick yards, chemical works, fertilizer manufactories 
and distilleries are in successful operation. It has been said that one of 
the most striking industrial advantages of Baltimore consists in the 
admirable sites it offers for manufacturing purposes. Nowhere is this 
better seen than in Canton. A large amount of property is here available 
for industrial enterprise, possessing extensive water frontage and ample 
railroad facilities. 

Woodberry. Woodberry is a busy manufacturing section in the north 
of the city, at the base of Prospect Hill, Druid Hill Park. It is the 
chief site of the manufacture of cotton duck, of which, as before stated, 
Baltimore is the largest single producing centre in the world. Extensive 
iron foundries and machine shops are also located here, covering in all 
some ten acres of ground. The loom for weaving cotton duck, the 
turbine water-wheel and cable railway machinery have been developed 
here. At present from four to five hundred skilled workmen are engaged 
in the manufacture of all varieties of special machinery. The Northern 
Central Railway passes directly through the settlement. 

COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

The important commercial organizations of Baltimore are as follows : 
Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce. 
Merchants and Manufacturers' Association, Hopkins Place and German 

street. 
Corn and Flour Exchange, Chamber of Commerce. 
Produce Exchange, 105 South street. 
Provision Exchange, Chamber of Commerce. 
Builders' Exchange, 19 West Saratoga street. 
Canned Goods' Exchange, 413 Water street. 
Brick Manufacturers' Exchange, 19 West Saratoga street. 
Lumber Exchange, 19 West Saratoga street. 
Real Estate Exchange, 203 East Fayette street. 



352 MARYLAND. 

Coal Exchange, 18 West Saratoga street. 

Brewer's Exchange, North and Lexington streets. 

Tobacco Board of Trade, 419 Exchange Place. 

Shoe and Leather Board of Trade, Hopkins Place and German street. 

Furniture Board of Trade, 110 East Lexington street. 

Taxpayers' Association, 203 East Fayette street. 

Old Town Merchants' and Manufacturers' Association, Gay and Exeter 

streets. 
West Baltimore Business Men's Association, 208 St. Paul street. 
Southwest Baltimore Business Men's Association, 110 St. Paul street. 
East Baltimore Business Men's Association. 
Stock Exchange, German near South street. 

CUMBERLAND. 

Cumberland has been frequently alluded to as the "Pittsburgh of 
Maryland." It would certainly be difficult to find a city more favorably 
situated for manufacturing purposes. Within easy distance are moun- 
tains full of the richest red and brown hematite ores. Alleghany county, 
of which Cumberland is the county seat, contains a fourteen-foot vein of 
bituminous coal, the quantity of which is almost inexhaustible. It can 
be delivered in Cumberland at a dollar and fifteen cents per ton. The 
smaller veins of this coal make excellent coke. Just across the river in 
West Virginia is found the gas-coal, and along the borders of Penn- 
sylvania is the bituminous coal, so that the worker in metal is enabled 
to furnish to all purchasers any quantity of iron, from the ingot to the 
finished tool steel. The Cambria Iron Company have a branch mill in 
this city, employing two hundred and fifty men. In addition to this are 
the Cumberland Steel and Tin Plate Company, Shafting and Machine 
Works, three foundries, one Car Spring Works, and three machine shops, 
together with the constructon and repair shops of the railroads centering 
here. Negotiations are now pending for the establishment of other 
works which will consume the entire output of the Cumberland Steel 
Company. 

Next in importance to Cumberland's advantages as a site for manu- 
facturing purposes, are its large lumber interests. The vast forests of soft 
and hard wood in Western Maryland and Northern West Virginia are 
largely owned or controlled by home capital, which is now organizing 
and establishing mills along the lines of the railways centering at 
Cumberland. The yards and factories in active operation in the city 
consume and dispose of millions of feet of timber monthly. In the 
establishment and prosecution of the industries of this kind home 
capital has been, for the most part, engaged; there are in prosperous 
existence one wood pulp paper-mill, with a capacity of ten tons per day 



MANUFACTURES. 353 

of finished product, three large planing-mills, three building companies, 
two sash blind factories, three large lumber-yards, one coffin factory, and 
a number of other smaller concerns. 

One of the most profitable industries is that of glass-making, which 
is represented by two factories, employing a large number of hands 
engaged in turning out table and prescription ware of a high order. One 
of these companies organized in 1883 with a capital of fifteen thousand 
dollars. After having paid ninety per cent, in dividends, and having 
doubled its capacity at a cost of eighteen thousand dollars, it had in 
1890, seventy thousand dollars over and above all liabilities, and its net 
earnings for the year 1892 amounted to over eighteen thousand dollars. 
Beside cheap fuel, Cumberland enjoys the advantage of the Medina 
sandstone, an almost pure silica, with less than one-half per cent, of 
sesquioxide of iron. 

The Cumberland Hydraulic Cement, used for building and other 
purposes, takes its name from a vein of that material which crops out in 
the very heart of the city. The production of this cement employs 
three mills, turning out a thousand barrels daily. Clay for the manu- 
facture of building brick is abundant, and four large yards are in 
operation. Outside the city are the mines and works of the Union 
Mining Company, where the celebrated Mount Savage fire brick is 
made. The immense fire-clay mines are inexhaustible. At Ellerslie a 
few miles distant, are located the Standard Savage Fire-Brick Works. 
These two corporations furnish employment to several hundreds of men. 
The city's flouring mills, of which there are three, all using the roller 
process, turn out 150,000 barrels annually. There are three distilleries 
and four breweries, the superiority of whose product is largely due to 
the pure mountain spring water that is used in the manufacture. In 
addition to these industries, Cumberland has three large tanneries six- 
cigar factories, one ice factory, two bookbinderies, two marble-yards 
two soap factories, one steam laundry and six newspapers, two of which 
are dailies. 

Cumberland's industries, according to a private census taken in 
October, 1892, furnish employment to 1,043 skilled mechanics and 
laborers. It is estimated that this will be more than doubled within the 
next three years, as the extensive improvements contemplated, and now 
in process of construction, by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the 
southern end of the city, will afford employment to twelve hundred 
men. The company has purchased ninety acres of land, upon which 
repair and construction shops will be erected and tracks laid to accom- 
modate three thousand cars. Three of these new tracks have recently 
been laid, and two hundred men are now actively engaged in extending 
the work. 

23 



354 MARYLAND. 

The geographical situation of Cumberland renders it peculiarly 
adapted for industrial development. It fronts on tlie north branch of 
the Potomac River, and is bisected by Will's Creek, the banks of which 
abound in sites for mills and factories. These natural advantages have 
been greatly enhanced by the artificial aids of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Canal, which forms an outlet to the sea by water, and the convergence of 
no less than seven railroads at Cumberland, affording abundant facilities 
for the shipment of products manufactured within its gates to the 
markets of the United States. 

HAGERSTOWN. 

The manufacturing industries of Hagerstown include, in all, over 
one hundred establishments, furnishing employment to an average of 
over twelve hundred and fifty mechanics. 

Of the leading industries, a few may be noted. In the manufacture 
of gloves, one factory employs an average of one hundred and fifty 
hands, almost wholly young women, producing an average of over 
$75,000 per annum, in that special line of products, the largest output 
of any factory in the country. In the manufacture of bicycles, great 
development has occurred within the last few years, two large factories, 
employing three hundred workmen, with an annual product of $250,000, 
being now engaged in the industry. One silk mill gives employment to 
one hundred and sixty operatives, and has a product yearly, of over 
$200,000. There are two knitting mills, one of underwear, employing 
one hundred hands, with a product of $75,000, and one of hosiery, 
employing eighty hands, with a product of $70,000. One shirt factory, 
employing sixty hands, yields a product of $50,000. Another factory 
gives steady work to forty skilled mechanics in building pipe and cabinet 
organs, and is rapidly increasing its reputation and output. The value 
of the annual product of bricks, all used here, and falling short of the 
demand, exceeds $250,000. In the manufacture of furniture, one factory 
makes extension-tables exclusively, another is general in its product. 
Together they employ over one hundred workmen and produce wares of 
over $100,000 in value. Other manufactures of wood include mills making 
wheel and carriage stock, employing over one hundred and fifty work- 
men, and handling more than $150,000 of finished products. One firm 
annually exports over $125,000 of hardwood in bulk and dimension 
lumber. One paper mill has an annual product of twelve hundred tons 
of white paper, and sells in addition, fifteen hundred tons each year. Of 
the wholesale trade in confectionery, exceeding $100,000, more than half 
is manufactured here. The available banking capital of the city exceeds 
one and a half millions. 



MANUFACTURES. 355 

FREDERICK. 

Frederick has long enjoyed the reputation of being the county seat 
of the third largest agricultural county in the country. More recently 
the city has advanced rapidly in industrial progress, and now offers 
unusual advantages for the establishment of small industries. The 
population of the city is at present, in round numbers, about ten 
thousand. 

Frederick is the home of the Louis McMurray Packing Company, 
the Frederick City Packing Company, the Union Knitting Mills, the 
Palmetto Fibre Company, the latter a large and very important enterprise 
engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of brushes from the Palmetto 
fibre of the Southern States; the Frederick Elevator Company, operating 
a grain elevator of fifty thousand bushels capacity, which receives and 
ships the grain raised by the farmers of the rich Frederick and Middle- 
town valleys; the Hygeia Ice Company, manufacturers of artificial ice 
on a large scale ; the Frederick Spoke Works, manufacturing wagon spokes 
and similar products from native hickory; a factory of straw hats, 
and numerous minor industries that contribute to the enterprise and the 
general prosperity of the county. Many of these industries were estab- 
lished in 1890 under the stimulus of the Frederick City Manufacturing 
Company. 

In the adjacent county, the point of most rapid growth and impor- 
tance at present is Brunswick, two years ago a sleepy little hamlet of 
two hundred souls, now a flourishing town of two thousand inhabitants. 
The change has been largely brought about by the establishment at that 
point of the large freight-distributing yards of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad Company. Middletown, Mechanicstown, Emmitsburg and 
Liberty are also flourishing towns, toward which the same spirit of 
enterprise has reached. The construction of a railroad through the 
Middletown valley, connecting the principal points with Frederick on 
the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio and AVestern Maryland Railroads 
is now being agitated, with every prospect of eventual consummation. 
Frederick's present railroad facilities consist in a connection with the 
main line of the Western Maryland, the Frederick Division of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, which extends from Columbia, Pennsylvania, to 
Frederick, connecting at Columbia with the main line of the great 
Pennsylvania system. A short special branch of three miles also 
connects the city with the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio at 
Frederick Junction. The city is thus brought within two hours and a 
half of Baltimore, five hours of Philadelphia, and seven hours of New 
York, while all western connections are readily accessible. 



356 MARYLAND. 

OTHER MANUFACTURING CENTRES. 

Annapolis. With all its historic opportunities and natural advantages, 
Annapolis has not progressed commercially as have other cities of the 
same age. Still it possesses respectable business industries. The shipping 
of oysters to the North and West has, for many years, been a profitable 
business. A glass factory is also in operation. A marine railway is 
located in the suburbs of the city, and carries on a flourishing business. 
The Farmers' National Bank and the Annapolis Savings Institution offer 
all necessary banking facilities. Four printing establishments supply 
the requirements of the public, and furnish the daily and weekly news. 
Annapolis is the terminus of two railroads, the Annapolis, Washington 
and Baltimore Railroad, and the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line. 

Cambridge. Cambridge ranks as the third largest oyster centre in 
the State. The boats engaged in the trade represent a capital of three 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The annual catch aggregates four 
hundred and thirty-five thousand bushels, creating a fund of two hundred 
and eighty thousand dollars paid to four thousand men engaged in the 
business. The oysters are packed and shipped by several packing 
establishments to all parts of the country. Daily communication is 
afforded with Baltimore and river points by two lines of steamboats, and 
with Philadelphia and the north by the Cambridge and Seaford branch 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Cambridge also contains a large manu- 
facturing company, several lumber mills, two shirt factories, two brick 
kilns, three ship-yards and two phosphate factories. The town has a 
taxable basis of $1,800,000 and two national banks. Besides these 
industries, Cambridge is largely engaged in the catching and shipping of 
crabs, herring, shad and other products of the water. In the season, it is 
a centre for the shipment of much of the farm produce of the adjacent 
country. 

Havre-de-Grace. The natural location of Havre-de-Grace, near the 
mouth of the Susquehanna river, has made it the centre of the important 
shad and herring fisheries in the vicinity. The cutting and storing of 
ice engages many of its residents during the winter months, and ducking 
is, in favorable seasons, a source of considerable revenue. A steam 
flouring mill, canning establishments, a fertilizer factory and saw and 
planing mills are in successful operation. Situated in close proximity 
to Baltimore and Philadelphia, in the midst of a rich agricultural 
country with ample railroad facilities, Havre-de-Grace possesses many 
opportunities for industrial development. 

JUaston. Vigorous efforts have been made within the last few years 
to develop the manufactures of Easton. Healthy climate, cheap land 
and living, low rents and abundant transportation facilities, are all favor- 
able to this movement. Already manufactures of commercial fertilizers, 



MANUFACTURES. 357 

flour mills, brick and tile yards and canneries are in successful operation. 
Smaller but flourishing industries are manufactories of shirts, washing 
machines, brooms, carriages, chairs, and window sash, and a number of 
well equipped machine shops and foundries. A creamery is in flourish- 
ing condition, and a large ice factory and another packing house will be 
built this summer. Two railroads and two steamboat lines afford quick 
communication with Philadelphia, Baltimore and Norfolk. While still 
retaining its character as a county seat, Easton is fast becoming a 
manufacturing town. 

Salisbury. Salisbury, advantageously situated at the head of navi- 
gation on the Wicomico river, at the junction of the Eastern Shore and 
Wicomico and Pocomoke Railroads, is the centre of a large and valuable 
trade in lumber, having regular communication with Baltimore and 
Washington, and thence with all markets East and North. It is estimated 
that the annual manufacture of planed lumber aggregates eight million 
feet, a considerable part of which is consumed by local factories in 
making peach baskets and strawberry boxes and crates. In addition 
to this, about eight million feet of Virginia boards are annually used in 
the manufacture of oil cases. The surrounding country is well adapted 
to the cultivation of berries and truck farming, and a large part of this 
product is shipped from Salisbury. Altogether the town is one of the 
most flourishing and enterprising on the Peninsula, and the annual volume 
of its business has been estimated as exceeding one million dollars. 

Ghestertown. The characteristics of Chestertown as a town and 
place of residence have been described elsewhere. Kent county, of 
which it is the county seat, is one of the most productive sections of the 
State, and upon its products the trade of the town is largely dependent. 
The advantages which Chestertown offers to industrial enterprise have, 
however, been by no means neglected. One establishment is engaged 
in the manufacture of straw board, and turns out sixteen tons of the 
completed product daily. Another manufactures peach baskets, which 
are used throughout Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Other indus- 
tries are canneries, a drying-house, brick-yard, creamery, ice factory, 
planing-mill, fertilizer factories, flour mill and iron foundries. The 
town enjoys excellent steamboat and railroad facilities. 

ETkton. Elkton, the county seat of Cecil county, has undergone 
marked industrial development within the last few years. The erection 
of extensive pulp mills for the manufacture of paper has of itself given 
a material impulse to its prosperity. A large plant for the manufacture 
of fertilizers, extensive machine shops and the growth of fruit and 
vegetable canning, indicate the importance and the industrial possi- 
bilities of the town. Its contiguity to the large manufacturing centres; 
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore, and its ample facilities for 



358 MARYLAND. 

transportation by railroad or water, are highly favorable to its growth. 
Barge and boat-yards have been recently established at Elk Landing, 
near the town. These are controlled by Pennsylvania capitalists, and 
have been removed from that State on account of the greater advantages 
of Elkton. 

Port Deposit is an important point for trade in stone and granite. 
The quarries in the neighborhood give employment to some two hundred 
men. Stoves and tin cans are also manufactured. Crisfield is one of the 
great oyster centres of the State. Large quantities of fish and soft crabs 
are marketed here, and a considerable part of the produce of the 
surrounding country. Ellicott City is the site of a considerable part of 
the milling industry already described. Belalr is the county seat of 
Harford county and contains a number of large canneries and other 
manufacturing establishments. Scattered throughout the State are many 
hundreds of local manufactures — oyster canneries, fruit packing estab- 
lishments, planing mills, ice factories, iron foundries, flour mills and 
ship-yards. 



CHAPTER XI. 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. ,f 



CITIES. 



Maryland has always been an essentially agricultural, rather than a 
manufacturing state. Peculiar causes led to the early commercial devel- 
opment of Baltimore, and this pre-eminence has since been maintained. 
The State as a whole is accordingly characterized rather by a relatively 
large number of agricultural and tidewater settlements, than of great 
industrial centres. The population of the thirty-three cities, towns and 
villages having one thousand or more inhabitants as returned by the 
census of 1890, in the order of their rank, is as follows: 



Cities, Towns and Villages. 



Allegany 

Washington . . . 

Frederick 

Anne Arundel. 

Dorchester 

Allegany 

Harford 

Talbot 

Wicomico 

Carroll 

Kent 

Baltimore 



Baltimore city 

Cumberland city 

Hagerstown city 

Frederick city 

Annapolis city 

Cambridge town 

Frostburg town 

Havre de Grace city 

Easton town 

Salisbury town 

Westminster town 

Chestertown town 

Sparrow Point town 

Elkton town | Cecil 

Catonsville village ; Baltimor 

Laurel town | Prince George 

Port Deposit town 

Pocomoke city town 

Rockville town 

Cristield town 

Westernport village 

Hyattsville town 

Ellicott City town 

Snow Hill town 

Belair town 

Saint Michael town 

Centerville town 

Williamsport town 

Northeast town 

Sharpsburg town 

Chesapeake City town 

Oxford town 

Oakland town 



Cecil 

Worcester 

Montgomery 

Somerset 

Allegany 

Prince George 

Baltimore and Howard, 

Worcester 

Harford 

Talbot 

Queen Anne 

Washington 

Cecil 

Washington 

Cecil 

Talbot 

Garrett 



1890. 1880 



434,439 
12,729 
10,118 
8,193 
7,604 
4,192 
3,804 
3,244 
2,939 
2,905 
2,903 
2,632 
2,507 
2,318 
2,115 
1,984 
1,908 
1,866 
1,568 
1,565 
1,526 



1,483 
1,416 
1,329 
1,309 
1,277 
1,249 
1,163 
1,155 
1,135 
1,046 



332,313 
10,693 
6,627 
8,659 
6,642 
2,262 



2,816 
3,005 
2,581 
2,507 
2,359 



1,752 
1,712 
1,206 
1,950 
1,425 



1,784 
1,276 



1,175 
1,196 
1,503 
988 
1,260 
1,402 



Number. Per cent 



102,126 
2,036 
3,491 



1,930 

3,804 

428 



273 

2,507 

566 

403 

778 



579 

58 

1,221 



207 

1,416 

154 

113 



261 



30.73 
19.04 
52.68 



14.48 
85.32 



32.31 
23.54 
64.51 



30.95 
127.91 

58.72 

3.95 

423.96 



16.22 



13.11 
9.45 



64.73 
14.95 



360 MARYLAND. 

In the following pages reference is made only to the fifteen having 
a population of two thousand or more. 

BALTIMORE. 

Baltimore, the principal city of Maryland, is situated on the 
Patapsco river, at the head of navigation, about fourteen miles from the 
Chesapeake Bay, in 39° 17' north latitude, and 76° ; 37' west longitude 
from the meridian of Greenwich. Its distance from the Atlantic by the 
Chesapeake Bay is two hundred and four miles. The nearest neighboring 
city is Washington, distant thirty-nine miles by rail. 

A small stream called Jones's Falls divides the city into east and west 
Baltimore, and empties into the Patapsco, which is here a considerable 
estuary of the Bay, and indenting the land with its middle branch and 
southwest branch, as they are called, enables vessels to ascend to the 
heart of the business quarters of the city, where the principal harbor is 
prolonged into a small interior harbor called the basin. That part of the 
city which lies south of the basin, and projects into the Patapsco into 
the form of an irregular peninsula, at the extremity of which Fort 
McHenry is built, is called South Baltimore. The entire area of the city 
is thirty-one and a half square miles. 

The land rises regularly from the water's edge northward in a series 
of undulations which throw the whole surface of the city into a succes- 
sion of gently rising hills, the sides of which slope toward the Patapsco 
or toward the tortuous course of the Falls. These elevations toward the 
north, northwest and northeast of the city reach a considerable height, 
commanding fine views of the city and river. Beyond the city limits the 
same undulating and gently-rising country continues for many miles, and 
indeed to the northern boundary of the State. The hill-sides, to a 
considerable extent covered with natural woodland, and sloping down to 
small dells drained by rivulets, are dotted with villas and handsome 
cottages. No city affords more varied and attractive sites for suburban 
and rural residences ; and the moderate price of land enables even 
persons of very limited means to have country homes amid scenery of 
exquisite beauty, within an hour's or even a few minutes' ride from the 
city. 

It was the possession of its fine harbor with its extraordinarily 
extensive water front that enabled Baltimore so rapidly to outstrip her 
older colonial rivals, and to seize and keep the commercial supremacy. 
Founded, as has been related in a previous chapter, in 1730, in 1775 
Baltimore numbered 6,755 inhabitants; in 1790, 13,500; and in 1890 
(according to the police census of that year), 455,427. Of these, 77,033, or 
about one-sixth, were negroes and mulattoes. 




WASHINGTON MONUMENT, BALTIMORE, MD, 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 361 

Government. The municipal government of Baltimore is vested in a 
Mayor, elected biennially, and a City Council of two branches. The first 
branch is composed of twenty-two members, one from each ward, elected 
annually, and the second branch of eleven members, one from every two 
wards, elected biennially. The principal departments are : A Tax 
Department, the head of which is a City Collector, with an Appeal Tax 
Court to correct and adjust assessments; a Register's office and a Comp- 
troller's office ; a Department of Finance, consisting of the Mayor and 
two (unsalaried) citizens of his appointment, which has charge of the 
public debt and other matters of municipal finance ; a Law Department, 
consisting of a City Counsellor, a City Solicitor, an Examiner of Titles, 
and a City Attorney, who advise the executive in legal matters, and have 
charge of municipal litigation; and a City Commissioner, who controls 
the paving, sewerage, &c. in addition there are Boards of Commissioners 
for Police, Water-Supply, Public Schools, the Harbor, Fires, Parks, &c, 
whose duties are indicated by their titles. 

City Hall. The bureaus and offices of the city government are in 
the City Hall, an imposing structure of white Maryland marble, covering 
an area of over 30,000 square feet. The architectural style is the Italian 
Renaissance. The design is a central mass with lateral wings, inclosing 
courts which give light to the interior rooms. From the centre rises a 
dome, supported by columns resting on a marble base, and surmounted 
by a lantern and finial 236 feet from the ground. The principal approach 
is on Holliday street by a marble portico. The building occupies an 
entire block, thus presenting a f acade to each street, and from whatever 
point viewed the effect is pleasing and impressive. A circumstance 
connected with its erection is unusual in the history of similar public 
buildings. Not only were all the expenses of building and finishing 
covered by the original appropriation, but a balance of $228,865 remained 
unexpended and was returned to the City Treasury. 

Fire Department. This is controlled by a Board of Fire Commis- 
sioners of six members, with the Mayor as a member ex-officio. It is 
equipped with fifteen engine companies, nine hook-and-ladder companies, 
seven chemical engines, and a fire-boat for harbor use. The permanent 
force consists of two hundred and thirty-three men, besides fifty call- 
men, who are summoned when required. A salvage corps for the rescue 
and protection of endangered property co-operates with the fire depart- 
ment, but it is an independent organization supported by the local Board 
of Underwriters. 

Police. The police of the city is controlled by a board of commis- 
sioners of three members, appointed by the State Legislature. The active 
force consists of a Marshal, Deputy Marshal, with the necessary subalterns, 
and six hundred and forty patrolmen. The city is divided into seven 



362 MARYLAND. 

police districts, each with its station-house. An alarm telegraph and 
telephone system connects the whole and extends over the whole city, 
and patrol wagons can instantly be summoned in case of accident or other 
emergency. The suburban districts are patrolled by a mounted force, 
and a steam patrol boat protects the harbor. 

Water Supply. This has been fully described in a previous chapter. 
It will be sufficient here to recapitulate that it is derived from two 
sources — the Gunpowder river and Jones's Falls. The water is stored in 
five artificial lakes — Loch Eaven and Lakes Montebello and Clifton for 
the Gunpowder system, and Lake Roland and Druid Lake with the 
Hampden High Service, and Mount Royal reservoir for the Jones's Falls 
system. These with the conduits and distributing mains have an aggre- 
gate storage capacity of about 3,000,0(J0,000 gallons, and a daily supply 
capacity of 165,000,000 gallons. 

Health Department. The chief executive officer of this department 
is the Commissioner of Health, appointed annually by the Mayor, and 
invested with powers to deal with everything that concerns or imperils 
the health of the city. In connection with this department is the city 
morgue, at the foot of President street. 

Courts. The courts of Baltimore have been described elsewhere. 
The courthouses are three ancient structures on Calvert and St. Paul 
streets, south of Lexington ; but as these are about to be superseded by a 
fine modern structure, suitable to the needs of the city, we shall not 
occupy our space with the description of obsolete relics that have out- 
lived their usefulness and will soon disappear. 

Post-office. This is a new and handsome building, erected by the 
federal government and completed in 1890. It occupies a large part of 
the block between Lexington and Fayette streets, immediately west of 
the City Hall. It is built of Maine granite, and the design is a hollow 
parallelogram, the facade being broken by a centre position flanked by 
two towers. The basement is used for the reception and storage of mail 
matter. The proper work of the post-office occupies the first floor, while 
on the second floor are located the offices of various federal officials. 
The third floor is occupied by the federal courts. 

Custom House. The Collector of Customs, with his staff, has for 
many years been housed in the old Merchants' Exchange building at the 
corner of Gay and Lombard streets. It is entirely inadequate to the 
needs of the city, and very ugly; and it is to be hoped that before long 
it will be replaced by a more creditable structure. 

Parks. There is nothing of which Baltimoreans have juster reason 
to be proud than of their beautiful parks and public squares. The 
largest of these, Druid Hill Park, to the north-west of the city, contains 
700 acres, and had been, before its purchase by the city, the country seat 




f^'% 







CITY HALL. BALTIMORE, MD 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 363 

of a family whose good taste had, for generations, preserved its natural 
beauties. In these it probably stands alone among American city parks. 
The diversity of hill and dale, deep woodlands threaded by winding 
paths, dense thickets, the coverts of deer, bright ttretches and slopes of 
green sward, crystal streams and springs, lakes and ponds, present 
pictures of exquisite beauty, changing at every moment. 

The city has carefully preserved these natural beauties, and enhanced 
them by judicious treatment. Drives, bridle-paths and foot-paths, enable 
the thousands who visit it daily to enjoy all its charms, whether their 
tastes lead them to mingle with the lively throngs always to be found in 
the vicinity of the "Mansion House" or the lake, or to seek the 
meditative solitude and silence of the woods. Lines of cars convey 
visitors to it from every part of the city, and it is a favorite resort of all 
classes of society. 

The Earl of Meath, who visited this country in 1890, and devoted 
especial attention to the parks of American cities, published an article 
on the subject in the New Review (Vol. II), in which he says that "as a 
lovely specimen of the forest park, Druid Hill was the finest among 
those that I visited in the United States." 

The main entrance is on Madison avenue. To the right is Druid 
Lake, with a driveway of a mile and a-half running around it. In other 
parts are lakes and ponds for boating and skating and for the propagation 
of fish. In a special inclosed pond are a pair of sea lions. Groves are 
arranged with shelters for picnics and with playgrounds for children, and 
there are grounds kept in order for base ball, tennis and other outdoor 
sports. Near these are the public buildings — the Mansion House, with 
spacious verandas, dining and lunch-rooms, and the Maryland House, 
transported from the Centennial Exposition of 1876, with collections 
illustrating the fauna and other natural productions of the State. Near 
these buildings is a small zoological collection and an aviary. 

A fine herd of deer roam at large in the woods, a flock of Southdown 
sheep pasture in the fields under charge of a shepherd in authentic 
costume, and a stable and a paddock are allotted to a pair of dromedaries 
of the finest breed, presented by the King of Italy to the late John W. 
Garrett. The park is supported by a tax of nine per cent, on the gross 
receipts of the street car companies. 

If Druid Hill illustrates the forest park, a handsome specimen of the 
artificial, or garden park, is presented by Patterson Park, a favorite resort 
of the inhabitants of the eastern section of the city. This is entered from 
the avenue of the same name by an imposing marble gateway, on pass- 
ing which the visitor's attention is arrested by a large fountain with a 
basin fifty feet in diameter. In all directions lie beds of flowers and 
shrubs, presenting a charming picture. A conservatory contains a fine 



364 MARYLAND. 

collection of rare and exotic plants, palms, etc., and a lake in the south- 
east corner is usually gay with small boats. In this park may still be 
seen a part of the earthworks thrown up by the citizens in 1814, when 
Baltimore was threatened by the British forces, as related in the first 
chapter of this work. 

On that part of the peninsula before described which lies beyond 
and to the south of the basin, is Federal Hill Park, an elevated plateau, 
eighty-five feet above the water. On this plateau, during the late war, 
rather formidable earth-works were constructed by the federal forces, and 
mounted with heavy guns directed upon the city, which it overlooks. It 
was, fortunately, never thought necessary to use them; and after the 
restoration of peace, " grim-visaged war smoothed his wrinkled front" in 
this particular locality, the ramparts were levelled, and the surface 
adorned with trees, shrubs and flower-beds. The crest of the plateau 
commands an interesting view of the city and harbor. 

South of this plateau is Riverside Park, overlooking the Patapsco 
river, the fort and the bay as far as North Point. In Northwest Balti- 
more is Harlem Park, distinguished for the beauty of its gardening. 

Squares. The squares, or ornamented spaces in the residence 
sections of the city, are too numerous to describe in a work like this. 
We may single out for mention the largest and most beautiful, Eutaw 
Place, a series of squares extending from Lanvale street to North 
avenue, laid out in grass and flower-beds, diversified by shrubbery and 
fountains. Mount Vernon Place and Washington Place are the four 
squares at the base of the Washington Monument. They are adorned 
with flowers, trees and fountains. The visitor's eye is especially attracted 
by the beautiful bronze statuary, which are the chief ornaments of these 
squares. A colossal lion by Barye, four allegorical groups by the same 
master, and a noble figure by Dubois, representing a youthful warrior in 
Gaulish costume, seated and leaning upon his sword, entitled " Military 
Courage," adorn the western square, and are the gift of W. T. AValters, 
Esq. The northern square has a statue of Chief Justice Roger Brooke 
Taney, and the eastern one of George Peabody, both of heroic size. 
Fronting on the square are the Mt. Vernon Church, the Peabody Institute 
and many tasteful private residences. 

Monuments. Baltimore is often called "the Monumental City"; 
but this designation arose not so much from the number of its monu- 
ments, as from the fact that it was the first city in America that could 
boast a worthy monument to Washington. The Washington Monument, 
erected by the State of Maryland, and finished in 1829, is a Doric column 
of white Maryland marble, 164 feet in height, rising from a marble base 
50 feet square and 24 feet high, and surmounted by a statue 16 feet in 
height, representing Washington in the act of resigning his commission.' 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 365 

A winding staircase in the interior leads to the plinth, which is guarded 
by a parapet, and from it an extensive view can be had of the city, 
harbor and surrounding country. 

Battle Monument, in Monument Square, commemorates the Balti- 
moreans who fell in defense of the city at the battle of North Point, 
September 12, 1814. 

In the grounds of the Samuel Ready Orphan Asylum stands a slender 
shaft of brick, covered with stucco, which is interesting as the first 
monument raised in the New World to the memory of Christopher 
Columbus. It was erected in 1792 by the Chevalier d'Anmour, the French 
consul ; and for thirty years was the only monument to the great navi- 
gator in the hemisphere which he discovered. One hundred years after 
its erection, a statue of Columbus, presented by the Italian residents of 
Baltimore, was unveiled in Druid Hill Park. 

Other monumental memorials are the Wells and McComas monument, 
the Wildey monument, the Wallace statue, in Druid Hill Park, and the 
cippus which marks the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. 

Residences. The domestic architecture of Baltimore is character- 
ized rather by substantiality and comfort than by show and splendor. 
Few, if any private houses are of the style which reporters call "palatial." 
Nearly all the residences are of brick, ornamented, in those of the better 
class, with string courses, lintels, and other trimmings of marble or 
sandstone of various hues. Of late years there has been a decided 
tendency to improve the domestic architecture by introducing novel 
designs and variety of building materials. Sandstone of various tints, 
from a deep maroon to a bright russet, marble, gneiss, fine gray freestone, 
green serpentine, bricks of different colors, diversify the streets with a 
pleasing polychromatic effect. 

In some sections of the city the visitor is surprised by the great 
number of small but decent houses, inhabited for the most part by 
workmen with their families. Baltimore has never taken kindly to 
tenement-houses and lodging-houses; and the cheapness of rents enables 
nearly every married workingman to have a home of his own; so that 
Baltimore is emphatically a city of homes. When we consider the 
advantages to the health, comfort, independence and morality of the 
workingman that gather around his "am fireside," we can cheerfully 
accept the loss of architectural display. 

Clubs. The inveterate domesticity of Baltimoreans has probably 
been the cause that the clubs are less numerous than would be expected 
from the size of the city, though of late years there has been some 
change in this respect. The Maryland Club, founded in 1857, is the 
oldest and most important, and has recently removed to a stately new 
building of white marble, at the corner of Charles and Eager streets, 



366 MARYLAND. 

which is one of the most ornamental buildings in the city. In addition, 
there are the Baltimore Club, the Athenaeum Club, the University Club, 
the Germania and the Phoenix clubs, besides others of less numerous 
membership. 

The Masonic lodges have temporary quarters in the former United 
States court house on Fayette street, pending the rebuilding of their 
temple on Charles street, destroyed by fire a few years ago. The Order 
of Odd Fellows have recently built a fine hall at the corner of Saratoga 
and Cathedral streets. 

Other institutions of Baltimore, as well as its commerce and manu- 
factures, are treated. under their appropriate heads. 

The medial position of Baltimore, exempting it from the excessive 
rigors of winter and the exhausting heats of summer, contributes largely 
to making it one of the healthiest of American cities. According to the 
police census of 1890 the population of that year was 455,427, and the 
total mortality of the same year was 10,198, giving a total death-rate of 
22.41 per thousand. The white mortality was 8,057, out of a white 
population of 384,394, or a death-rate of 20.98; and the colored mortality 
2,141 out of a population of 71,033, or a death-rate of 30.15. 

ANNAPOLIS. 

The most interesting survival of Maryland's past is her ancient 
capital, Annapolis. Two and a-half centuries have rolled away full of 
the most surprising changes, and yet this relic of Old Maryland is as full 
of interest to-day as ever in her long history. 

Thirteen years after the establishment of the proprietary government 
at St. Mary's in the year 1647, an invitation was extended by Governor 
Stone to a colony of non-conformist Puritans settled in the lower counties 
of Virginia, and much disquieted by the authorities of that colony, to 
enjoy perfect religious freedom within the borders of Maryland. For a 
year they hesitated, but fresh persecutions were upon them, and the offer 
was accepted. During the early spring and summer of 1649 the emigra- 
tion continued from Virginia. Thankful for their preservation and 
happy at finding a home where peace and security were guaranteed them, 
the Puritans named their new settlement "Providence." At first a long 
stretch of plantations along the shores of the bay and its tributaries, the 
Puritan settlement could not be protected from the Indian marauders 
that nightly threatened, and gradually we mark the tendency to central- 
ize upon one spot at the mouth of the Severn, where their meeting-house 
stood. Here Anne Arundel Town, later called Annapolis, had its begin- 
ning. As the soil was fertile and well cultivated, this section grew to be 
the richest in the Province. 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 367 

The central situation, general prosperity and more salubrious climate 
marked this region as the best location for the seat of government, which 
was removed from St. Mary's to Anne Arundel Town by Governor Francis 
Nicholson in 1695, and the name changed to Annapolis in honor of the 
Princess Anne, afterwards Queen of England. 

In 1708 Annapolis became a chartered city, with a regular municipal 
government. King William School, which had been founded in 1696, 
became the chief seat of domestic education. From the opening of the 
century the capital increased steadily in wealth and importance, and soon 
became the social centre south of Philadelphia, and the inhabitants were 
distinguished for sociability, courtesy and refinement of manners. Races, 
balls and other festivities attracted strangers not only from adjacent coun- 
ties, but adjacent colonies. Conviviality prevailed; clubs were founded, 
and deep drinking was the rule among all classes, the clergy not excepted. 
The Tuesday Club became famous in the colonies for its wit and good 
cheer, and claimed among its members many of the leading Americans 
of the day. The quaint but voluminous records of the club give a charm- 
ing insight of the social life at Annapolis. The provincial State House 
became better known as a ball-room than a hall of legislation. A theatre 
was in full operation as early as 1745, and was the first, it is asserted, in 
the colonies. French hair-dressers, tailors and perfumers plied then- 
trades in the little city, and excited the admiration and wonder of the 
French and English visitors. The golden age of Annapolis lies between 
1750 and 1770, when its wealth, influence and attractiveness were at the 
highest point. 

The spirit of resistance to the arbitrary measures of England rose 
high at Annapolis. Non-importation clubs were formed, and the pres- 
ence of the convention at once cherished and moderated the patriotic 
spirit. The burning of the " Peggy Stewart," with her cargo of tea, has 
been described on an earlier page. 

It was at Annapolis that Washington resigned his commission to 
Congress, on December 23, 1783. But the Revolution concludes a chapter 
of her history, and marks the beginning of her commercial decay. In a 
few years she was entirely overshadowed, in this respect, by Baltimore 
on the Patapsco, and all her struggles to regain her old position were in 
vain. 

In the second war with Great Britain, Annapolis was on the very 
verge of the battlefield, and many of her sons were upon the muster 
rolls of those who rallied to the defense of the federal capital and 
Baltimore. The little town was blockaded by the British fleet, but the 
guns of Fort Severn, manned by resolute citizens, drove the enemy 
down the bay. The historian notes but few changes in the half century 
which separates this war from the greater civil conflict. Annapolis grew 



368 " MAKYLAND. 

but little, her commerce decreased, while many of her better citizens 
moved to Baltimore and Washington. The establishment of the Naval 
Academy here in 1845, marks the beginning of the naval regime in the 
history of Annapolis, an important factor economically and socially. 

During the Civil War, Annapolis became an army town, and thou- 
sands of troops were quartered within her limits, while a large "parole " 
camp lay on the outskirts. So menaced was she at times that the Naval 
Academy had to be removed to Newport until hostilities had ceased. 

Since the war her population has doubled and her material prosperity 
greatly increased, though Annapolis will probably always be noted more 
for its social opportunities and the hospitality of her citizens, than as a 
pushing business-like modern city. 

Colonial Houses. To the architect, the old houses of Annapolis 
present an interesting study, as among the purest and most complete 
examples of what is known as the "Colonial Style." Of the seventeenth 
century buildings, few survive here or in the State, or at most, so 
modified as to be scarcely recognizable. Passable exceptions are the 
house at the corner of Church and Conduit streets, and the building used 
as the Treasury, on State House Hill. 

Of the class of houses termed " mansions," the Carroll house, now 
a part of the Redemptorist seminary, is one of the earliest, as indicated 
by the massive simplicity of its style. A garden terraced towards the 
water was the usual adjunct of these homes, and while they had a town- 
ward entrance the more pretentious front generally overlooked the garden 
toward the bay. Intrinsic evidence, as shown in the change from a 
somewhat primitive construction to the style of William and Mary, 
recalling the Dutch taste of Hampton Court, and then to the Georgian, 
lost in turn in the greater elegance of the French influence of Louis XV 
architecture, may be traced distinctly in Annapolis mansions. Taken in 
historical sequence we have the Tydings house; the Treasury; the 
Randall house, built 1730 by Thomas Bordley; the Carroll mansion; the 
Brice house, corner East and Prince George streets, 1740 probably; the 
Iglehart house, Prince George street ; its opposite neighbor, the Paca 
house ; the Claude house, Shipwright street, and the Ridout mansion, 
Duke of Gloucester street; the Mason house, built by Governor Ogle 
1742, and St. John's College (McDowell Hall) ; the Randall house, Market 
Space, and the house of Antony Stewart, of " Peggy Stewart " fame, 
Hanover street. The City Hotel, Washington's hostelry, belongs to an 
early period, while the Chase mansion, built by Governor Lloyd, and the 
Lockerman house opposite, built 1770, plainly show the growth of French 
influence in plan and decoration. 

In the more modern dwellings of the colonial period the hipped 
roof, similar to the French mansard, though without an ornamental 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 369 

character, was almost universal and covered many a comfortable home 
of those days. One of the houses of this character, on Charles street, is 
noted as the printing office and dwelling of the editor of the Maryland 
Gazette, published here since 1745. Another on State House circle, the 
Franklin house, is a specimen of the hipped roof colonial dwelling. Old 
Annapolis consisted mostly of this sensible style of building, varied 
occasionally by the very high-pitched roof, both picturesque and suited 
to storm and sun. 

Mo3t of these humbler dwellings have disappeared, or, by modifica- 
tion or additions, have lost all their original architectural character. 

The State House and other public buildings of Annapolis are 
described elsewhere in this volume. 

Municipal Institutions. Annapolis is governed by a Mayor, Recorder 
and Aldermen, deriving authority from a charter granted in 1708, and 
since amended by the Legislature. St. John's College, four public schools, 
three parochial schools, and five private schools, provide ample educa- 
tional facilities. Protection from fire is assured by a steam fire engine, 
two volunteer hose companies, a hook and ladder company and the fire 
organization connected with the United States Naval Academy. Water 
and gas supply are in the hands of private corporations. 

CUMBERLAND. 

The location of Cumberland, the county seat of Alleghany county, 
and the second city of Maryland in point of importance, size, manufac- 
turing interests and population, is in the northwestern part of the State, 
one hundred and seventy-eight miles, by rail, from Baltimore city. It is 
on the boundary line that separates Maryland from West Virginia — the 
Potomac River — at the intersection of Wills' Creek with the river. Its 
precise geographical position is longitude 78° 45' 25" and 39° 39' 14" north 
latitude; its altitude is seven hundred feet above sea level. The land 
upon which the city is built was originally owned by Governor Thomas 
Bladen, who disposed of it to George Mason, of Fairfax county, Va., to 
whom a grant, by letters patent, was made on the 25th of March, 1756. 
In October, 1783, it was purchased by Thomas Beall, of Samuel, for 
$1,407.10. In 1785 Mr. Beall laid off the town, the county of Alleghany 
having about this time been separated from Washington county, of which 
it formed a part. In 1787 articles of incorporation were drawn up and 
presented to the Legislature, who granted the privileges asked for. 
Before this the town, which contained but thirty-five families, was 
known by the name of Washington Town. A desire on the part of the 
inhabitants for a more distinctive name was manifested, and the one 
borne at the present time was selected in commemoration of Fort 
Cumberland, which had been erected on the site by Gov. Dinwiddie, of 

24 



370 MARYLAND. 

Virginia, as a defence against the French and Indians in 1754, and around 
which the first houses had been built. The commanding site of old Fort 
Cumberland is at present occupied by Emmanuel Episcopal Church and 
some beautiful private residences, and is one of the prettiest spots in the 
State, commanding a magnificent view of the city and surrounding hills 
and valleys. In 1794 the first levy of $200 was made for the erection of 
a court-house, to be located adjoining the site of the old fort. Other 
levies were made up to 1799, when the total amount expended on its 
construction amounted to $612.10. On January 1, 1795, Cumberland was 
made a postoffice, established by order of the Postmaster-General, and 
with its courthouse and postoffice, became entitled to be recognized by 
the outside world as a place of local habitation. The woodsman's axe, 
border civilization and the progress of a century have cleared the way 
gradually, until there nestles in a basin at the hills and lofty mountains 
that almost completely surround it, one of the most beautifully located, 
energetic and bustling cities in the country. 

The business portion of Cumberland is built on the flats, banked on 
the south and west by the north branch of the Potomac river and Wills' 
creek, while on the rising ground on the east, north and west side are the 
residence portions. Handsome private buildings mark the homes of its 
citizens along broad and shady streets, while the towering verdure-clad 
slopes of Wills' mountain form a background to a noble panoramic view. 
The city has a breathing place in " Narrows Park," out on the National 
road, the substantial construction of which by the United States govern- 
ment before the days of the locomotive, makes it the chief of all 
promenades and carriage-ways. This popular road winds through an 
immense cleft in the mountain, known as the " Narrows," whose rocky 
sides stretch perpendicularly a thousand feet on either side, leaving a 
chasm a little over a hundred yards wide, through which roll the waters 
of Will's Creek. Flanked on both sides by railroads and the National 
highway, it is a veritable gateway from the north entrance into the city. 
A short distance from the Narrows entrance is the park. Across a little 
valley from that place are situated the base-ball and athletic grounds, and 
two miles further west is the Alleghany Grove camp ground, filled with 
neat cottages. At the southern end of the city lie the Tri-State Exposition 
grounds — embracing a large enclosure, in which is an excellent half-mile 
regulation track, numerous stables for horses, a grand stand for spectators 
and large halls and exposition buildings. Those points of interest in the 
suburbs are reached from all points of the city by six miles of electric 
street railway operated by the trolley system. Among other points 
outside of Cumberland well worth visiting are the coal mines, to which 
four different routes by rail are at the choice of the tourist. An hour's 
ride, on any of them, will place him at the mouth of one of the large 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 371 

mines that have so greatly contributed to Cumberland's prosperity. In 
the city itself, which has a population of fourteen thousand, there are 
many points and features of interest. It has fifteen miles of paved 
streets, the most frequented being laid in vitrified brick. It is well 
illuminated by gas and electricity, and the water supply from the river 
is abundant. 

The city's officials consist of a mayor and eleven councilmen, city 
clerk, treasurer and a tax collector. These officials have their quarters 
in the City Hall, a large, handsome building, erected in 1874, and occupy- 
ing the square bounded by Frederick, North Centre, North Liberty and 
Bedford streets. The entire ground floor of this building is occupied as 
a meat and vegetable market ; the second floor by the Academy of Music, 
the seating capacity of which is over one thousand persons. Lodging 
rooms and city offices take up the rest of the structure. In the rear of 
the City Hall is the Market Square, Station House and the Pioneer Hose 
Company's building. Thirteen policemen make up the force of the city's 
guardians. The fire department at present consists of four volunteer 
companies. The taxable basis of the city on June 1, 1892, was $6,845,548, 
and the tax rate was placed at eight mills. ( 

The educational needs of the city are amply provided for by seven 
public and six parochial schools, one high school and the Alleghany 
County Academy. Its religious world worships in eighteen churches, 
representing all creeds. The handsomest of these are owned by the 
congregations of the Presbyterian, Emmanuel Protestant Episcopal, 
Methodist Episcopal, Saints Peter and Paul's and St. Patrick's Catholic. 
In connection with Saints Peter and Paul's Church there is a convent in 
charge of the Ursuline nuns, and a large monastery of the Capuchin 
Order, while the convent of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Joseph is attached 
to St. Patrick's Church. The cemeteries are Rose Hill and Saints Peter 
and Paul's, beautifully located on the brow of the hill on the western 
part, Greenmount, Sumner (colored), St. Patrick's and a Jewish cemetery 
in the eastern part of the city. 

One of Cumberland's handsomest buildings, the court-house, was 
destroyed by fire on the early morning of January 5, 1893. It will be 
rebuilt, enlarged and improved during the present summer. Immedi- 
ately in the rear of the court-house site, on the opposite side of the 
street, is the county jail, a well-protected and strongly built piece of 
brick work. Within a stone's throw of the jail are located the city 
water works, between Green street and the river. Just at the eastern 
limits of the city are the Alms-house and Sylvan Retreat, an asylum for 
the insane, built by the county in 1888, at a cost of thirty-five hundred 
dollars. On Baltimore avenue there is the Western Maryland Home and 
Infirmary. This charitable undertaking was organized in 1887 by a few 



372 MARYLAND. 

of Cumberland's philanthropic ladies. State aid was obtained, and the 
present perfectly appointed hospital erected at a cost of twenty thousand 
dollars. 

The industries of Cumberland have been treated in another chapter, 
and a visit to any one of these will well repay the visitor. The cement 
quarries, the steel mills and glass factories are, perhaps, of particular 
interest. 

HAGERSTOWN. 

Hagerstown, the county seat of Washington county, is picturesquely 
situated upon the crest of the main watershed of the Cumberland valley, 
with the historic Antietam one mile east and the Conococheague six 
miles west. It is nearly at the middle of the valley, which here is about 
twenty miles wide, and is equidistant from Pennsylvania and West 
Virginia. At an elevation of 600 feet above sea level, its broken and 
rolling site has adequate surface drainage and is exceptionally healthy. 
The geological formation of the region is Lower Silurian, the Trenton 
limestone being the surface rock, with mountain sandstone flanking at 
the foot-hills on either side. It is at the centre of one of the richest 
agricultural sections of the continent, and from the hill-sides and higher 
buildings the eye takes in, to the east and west, bounded only by "South" 
Mountain on the east and "North" Mountain on the west, a grand 
panorama of the valley, twenty miles or more in width. To the north 
and south extends a stretch of more than sixty miles of thickly-settled, 
abundantly-watered, highly-cultivated farm lands, the homes of thrift, 
happiness and peace, while at either extremity lie the great battle-fields of 
Antietam and Gettysburg. 

The city was founded in 1762, by Jonathan Hager, whose name it 
bears. In making its plan, he wisely provided wide and regular streets, 
and spacious town lots, so that, in the older parts of the city, an absence 
of the crowding so often seen in American cities is noticeable. 

The history of Hagerstown before 1860 is that of most county seats 
in agricultural sections, one of slow, steady growth from within, yet so 
substantial as to lay broadly the foundation for large things in the future. 
Upon the great highway, the National road, from Washington westward, 
its wayside inns were of wide repute in stage coach days. The road 
system of the county early received attention, and the abundance of 
limestone facilitated the making of excellent Macadam roads. At the 
present time eleven of these radiate to all the lesser towns,, affording 
ample facilities for access, and with admirable railroad facilities, 
concentrating in this city the larger part of the traffic of the county and 
the adjoining parts of the valley, both north and south. Being one of 
the strategic points of the late war, it early came to share the fortunes of 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 373 

the borderland, and its occupation by the forces of one of the other of 
the contending armies, was almost constant. This was not, however, an 
unmixed evil, since it attracted some measure of attention to the 
advantages of its location for business, manufacture and residence. Its 
real development began about 1870, at which date its population was less 
than 5,000. Since then its growth has been steady in" measure, substantial 
in character and encouraging in stability and diversity. Its population 
in 1890 was 11,698, an increase in the decade of over 52 per cent. The 
estimated present rate of increase is over 7 per cent, per annum, making 
the population at the beginning of the year 1893 at least 13,000. This 
estimate is fully warranted by the annual increase for some years past of 
over 225 dwellings. The fact is also significant that houses are built to 
meet actual needs, and are in large part erected by wage-earners for 
their own occupation. 

Hagerstown has twenty-one churches, of which twenty are Protestant, 
representing eleven denominations, the Lutheran predominating, three 
colored and one Catholic. All have fine edifices, and a number very 
beautiful church buildings. It has also five public school buildings, 
accommodating thirty-nine graded public schools, five private schools, 
one young ladies' seminary having over two hundred students, and a 
commodious and elegant municipal building, with ample public market 
accommodations. Its hotels are greatly superior to those of any town of 
its size in the East. They are ten in number, furnishing accommodations 
for one thousand persons, and actually accommodating an annual average 
of forty-five thousand persons. The two principal ones cost over $125,000 
each, and are models of elegance and comfort, heated throughout by 
steam, lighted with electricity, with elevators and all modern conve- 
niences, so complete in their accommodations as to be noted and especially 
attractive to travelers. The entire city is amply lighted by electricity, 
its dwellings and business houses by electricity and gas. With its graded 
and paved sidewalks, wide, macadamized streets, its law-abiding popula- 
tion (the entire and efficient police force consisting of a chief and three 
roundsmen), Hagerstown is a model town. Its ample water supply of 
pure, soft sandstone water, is drawn from mountain streams eight miles 
away, and two hundred and fifty feet above mean level, giving an 
average hydrant pressure of eighty-five pounds at the highest point of 
service, and so making almost unnecessary the volunteer fire department, 
which includes two first-class steam-engines, two hand-engines and 
ample hook-and-ladder and hose apparatus. 

Its municipal government is now conducted by a Mayor and Council. 
All street maintenance and extension are under the direction of an 
unpaid street commission. All public needs and expenditures are met 
by an annual tax of five mills, and this, with the State, and county tax, 



374 MARYLAND. 

amount to but fourteen and one-half mills. Property is assessed at an 
average of about three-fourths of its estimated market value. The 
limitation by charter of the maximum corporate tax, and of public 
expenditures in each year to the amount of tax specifically levied, with 
the inhibition of the creation of debt without previous legislative 
authority and popular approval by vote, effectually guards the city 
against extravagance in municipal expenditures. 

FREDERICK. 

Frederick, the county seat of Frederick county, is a beautiful town, 
nestling among Maryland hills upon the banks of Carroll Creek. It was 
laid out by Patrick Dulany in 1745, and the first house was built by John 
Thomas Schley on what is now East Patrick street. Here Washington 
and Benjamin Franklin met for the first time, and here also "Washington 
and Braddock fitted out their famous expedition against the French and 
Indians in 1755. The barracks in which the troops were quartered, and 
the military road built by them and over which they marched, are still 
in a good state of preservation. Before the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
was built, all the travel and traffic to and from the West came over the 
National road, which passes through the city. Such distinguished 
statesmen and public men as Henry Clay, General Andrew. Jackson, 
President William Henry Harrison and General Winfield Scott were 
entertained by its citizens, while the older inhabitants of the generation 
that has just passed away, delighted to relate their recollections of the 
visit of the Marquis De Lafayette and the ball given in his honor in this 
city. 

Frederick is well laid out with wide streets intersecting each other 
at right angles, paved with stones and lighted with electricity. The 
houses are substantially built, and though some are old-fashioned and 
quaint in style of architecture, many are modern and handsome, equalling 
those of any other city of its size. The public buildings, including the 
court-house, market-house, public halls, churches, schools, banks and the 
State institution for the deaf and dumb, are modern and well built. The 
stores are numerous and well furnished with articles in their various 
lines. Markets are abundantly supplied with the necessaries and com- 
forts of living, at reasonable prices. The city has, just beyond its limits, 
a large reservoir supplied with an abundance of pure, fresh water, 
brought in pipes from springs in the mountains, in sufficient quantity for 
all domestic and manufacturing purposes and for the needs of an efficient 
volunteer fire department. 

The fertile lands, the admirable location, the low cost of living, the 
salubrity and beauty of its site, the energy, thrift and prosperity of its 
population, all combine to make Frederick a highly attractive city. 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 



375 



Cambridge, the county seat of Dorchester county, is the largest town 
on the Eastern Shore. It is finely situated on the south bank of the 
Choptank River, about eighteen miles from its mouth, which at this 
point is between two and three miles wide. The town is divided 
unequally by a branch of the river into east Cambridge and the main 
town, and possesses a fine harbor for vessels of all descriptions. The 
streets are, as a general rule, wide and well shaded by trees, while the 
whole is beautified by flower gardens and grass plots in front of many of 
the dwellings. The houses are, generally, of the cottage type, so 
characteristic of Eastern Shore towns; but many substantial brick 
buildings have recently been erected in the business section. The town 
is well lighted by gas, and will soon be provided with a system of 
artesian water supply. It is amply protected from fire by a volunteer 
fire department. Educational advantages are afforded by an excellent 
system of public schools, including a high school, partly supported by 
the State. There are eight churches, six white and two colored, repre- 
senting as many different denominations. 

Frosfburg is the second largest town in Allegany county. It is 
situated on a plateau of the Allegany Range seventeen hundred feet 
above sea level. It is in the midst of a great coal region, midway 
between Cumberland and Piedmont, on the line of the Cumberland and 
Pennsylvania Railroad. The population of the town is composed for the 
most part of miners of foreign extraction, but of thrifty and law- 
abiding habits. The town is governed by a Mayor and a board of six 
Councilmen ; it is lighted by gas and well provided with well water. It 
contains fourteen churches, several public schools and two newspapers. 
The vicinity of Frostburg is notable for the beauty and sublimity of 
its natural scenery. The view afforded from the town itself into Penn- 
sylvania, Maryland and West Virginia is most impressive. 

Havre de Grace is pleasantly situated on the south bank of the 
Susquehanna River near its mouth. It is one of the oldest towns in the 
State, and received its name from a fancied resemblance to the site and 
environment of the French port. The city is governed by a board of 
five commissioners elected annually. It is attractively laid out with 
wide streets, lined by well-built houses. A system of public schools for 
white and colored children, and a number of churches provide for the 
needs of the inhabitants. The industrial activity of the town largely 
centres, as has been stated, about its fisheries and ice trade. Havre de 
Grace has admirable railroad connection with the larger cities, being 
about midway between Baltimore and Philadelphia. It is located in 
the midst of a rich agricultural country, with an almost inexhaustible 
supply of fish and fowl at its very door. Living is cheap, the climate is 



376 MARYLAND. 

healthy, and it offers many attractions as a place of permanent or transient 
residence. 

Easton, the county seat of Talbot county, has grown up around the 
court house, which was built, somewhat more than one hundred years 
ago, in an "old field near Pitts Ms bridge." The court house, a well- 
proportioned Colonial building, is still the most prominent feature of 
the town, standing with the jail and armory, on a shaded green. Near 
it are the market house and town hall, and the Odd Fellows' hall. The 
town is regularly laid out, well lighted with electricity and gas, and 
supplied with abundant water from artesian wells. It is still primarily 
a shire town, the capital of a wealthy and populous county. On any 
" public day " the streets are crowded with vehicles of every description, 
while the market house and "space" are full of people buying, selling 
and discussing business or county affairs. The Talbot county fair is held 
here every fall, the exhibits being displayed in a series of fine buildings 
owned by the Fair Association. Easton has a militia company of about 
forty men, and an efficient fire company. The important religious 
denominations are represented by well built churches. The most 
interesting of these structures is, perhaps, the Friends' meeting house, 
erected over two hundred years, and standing in a grove of great oaks, 
just outside the town. Both Fox and Penn worshipped here. Four 
newspapers are published in the town, and well organized public schools 
are in operation. 

Salisbury, the county town of Wicomico county, and the second 
largest town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is situated on the 
Wicomico river, ninety-five miles from Annapolis. In its present form 
the town dates practically from a disastrous fire, occurring several years 
ago. In the work of reconstruction, the main street was widened and 
straightened, and brick buildings generally substituted for the earlier 
frame structures. As a result, the town presents a modern appearance 
unusual in towns of larger size. Salisbury has several banks, a number 
of churches, and a volunteer fire department. Its public schools are well 
equipped, graduates of the high school being prepared to enter a colle- 
giate sophomore year. Two newspapers are published in the town. The 
climate of Salisbury is pleasant and healthful, and the surrounding 
country is rich and productive. Its industrial activity centres largely 
in the lumber trade. 

Westminster, the county seat of Carroll county, is situated at the 
head-waters of the Patapsco, midway between Baltimore and Hagerstown, 
on the line of the Western Maryland Eailroad. It was founded as early 
as 1766 and incorporated as a town seventy years later. It is situated in 
the midst of a rich and productive country, and has ample water power 
for industrial establishments. Fine grades of marble are quarried in the 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 377 

vicinity. Westminster is the site of Western Maryland College, a 
co-educational institution under the control of the Maryland Conference 
of the Methodist Protestant Church. The town contains several fine 
structures, and hears the general appearance of a substantial, prosperous 
community. 

Chestertown, the county town of Kent county, was incorporated in 
1706, and early became a port of entry for the Province. The original 
custom-house and counting-room, though since converted into dwellings, 
can still be pointed out. The town is well laid off, the streets being wide 
and straight, and lined on either side with historic shade trees. The 
court-house and jail are spacious modern structures, as are many of the 
private residences. Chestertown is the site of Washington College, 
which was established in 1782, and was visited by Washington himself 
two years later. Five churches of as many different denominations, two 
banks and a series of public schools are located in the town. It is sixty 
miles distant from Baltimore by water, and ninety miles by rail. Steamers 
from Baltimore arrive daily. 

ETkton, the county seat of Cecil county, is advantageously located 
at the head of Elk river, a tributary of the Chesapeake. The town is 
also half way between Philadelphia and Baltimore on the Philadelphia, 
Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. The public buildings consist of a 
court-house, recently rebuilt, with fire-proof offices for the county 
archives, a handsome town council hall, part of which is occupied by a 
well equipped local fire company; and seven church edifices, all excel- 
lently maintained. The town is supplied with both gas and electric 
light. Water has recently been introduced through a modern reservoir 
and gravity system, affording a constant supply of pure and soft water 
for domestic and municipal uses. The educational facilities of the town 
embrace an academy of high grade, a grammar school and public schools 
for white and colored children. Ample facilities are afforded for public 
entertainments, and a free circulating library will soon be provided. Two 
national banks afford all needed banking facilities, and the retail trade 
of the town is transacted by enterprising mercantile establishments. 
Elkton is the centre of a refined and cultivated population, with every 
inducement for permanent residence, and many attractions for summer 
sojourn. 

Oatonsville is on the Frederick road, six miles from Baltimore, with 
which it is connected both by railroad and street railways. It is well 
provided with churches and schools, and is the site of the Spring Grove 
Insane Asylum. Its pleasant location, healthy environment and prox- 
imity to Baltimore have made it a growing suburb of that city. 

Sparrow's Point is the site of the works of the Maryland Steel 
Company, and has been described in another connection. 



378 MARYLAND. 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

State House. The first colonial capital of Maryland was St. Mary's, 
in the southern part of the Province, but the seat of government was 
removed in 1694 to Annapolis, where the first state house was built upon 
the site of the present building. This being destroyed by fire in 1704, a 
larger capitol was erected, but this again, after fifty years' occupation, 
proving too small for the increased needs of the community, was torn 
down in 1769, and replaced by the present- structure. The plans are 
supposed to have been drawn by a. pupil of Sir Christopher Wren. The 
dimensions are : height to the top of the dome, 200 feet; front, 120 feet; 
depth, 175 feet. 

The. visitor enters by the south door into a rotunda of imposing 
effect, beneath the dome. To the right of the entrance is the Senate 
chamber, and that of the Delegates on the left. 

The Senate chamber has been the scene of memorable events in the 
country's history. Here, on December 23, 1783, Washington surrendered 
to Congress his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the 
United States. In this chamber, in 1784, the long struggle for American 
independence was brought to a close by the ratification, in the presence 
of Congress, of the treaty of peace with Great Britain. Here, in 
September, 1786, the first Constitutional Convention, generally known as 
the Annapolis Convention, met to frame a better form of government for 
the United States. 

This apartment, measuring thirty feet by forty, has been enlarged 
and embellished in the last few years. On the west wall is a painting 
representing Washington resigning his commission, and on the opposite 
side is the famous portrait of Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Other 
portraits of distinguished Marylanders, and many curious and interesting 
historical relics, adorn the walls of this and the antechamber. 

In the Delegates' chamber is a fine painting by Peale, representing 
the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 

The State Library, containing about 70,000 volumes, and the Judicial 
and Executive Departments are on the second floor. In the Governor's 
room is a fine portrait of George Calvert, first Lord Baltimore, copied 
from the original by Mytens, and presented to the State by the late John 
W. Garrett, Esq. Here too are portraits of several early governors of the 
State. 

From the balcony above the dome, at the height of one hundred 
and eighty-five feet, a magnificent view is obtained ; the city of Annapolis 
with its harbor, the Severn river, the Chesapeake bay, and the picturesque 
surrounding country, spreading like a panorama before the eye. 

Two fine bronze statues of colossal proportions adorn the grounds. 
One, representing Roger Brooke Taney, Chief Justice of the United States, 



CITIES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 379 

is the work of W. H. Einehart. a distinguished Maryland sculptor, and 
was erected by the State in 1872. The other, representing Baron DeKalb, 
leading the Maryland and Delaware troops at the battle of Camden, 
where that hero fell, mortally wounded, was erected by the United States 
in 1886, in pursuance of a resolution of Congress passed in 1780. This 
spirited work is by Ephraim Keyser, also a Maryland artist. 

Executive Mansion. The official residence of the Governors of 
Maryland for one hundred, years before 1866, was the building now used 
as the library of the Naval Academy, having been purchased by the 
Federal Government in the year last named. In the same year, during 
the administration of Governor Swann, the present Executive Mansion 
was built. 

State Treasury, &c. Upon the State-house hill, to the right of the 
State-house, stands a quaint old colonial building of very modest propor- 
tions. This is the Treasury of the State of Maryland. The building is 
in the shape of a Greek cross, and is probably the oldest edifice in the 
city. The venerable college poplar is the single living witness of its 
building, nearly two hundred years ago. The rooms are low, and the 
walls of unusual solidity and thickness, capable of bidding defiance to 
the limited resources of colonial burglars. Near it stands a modern 
building containing the Land Office and other public offices. 



CHAPTER XII. 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 



The political evolution of Maryland from the struggling palatinate 
of the seventeenth century to the sovereign State of our own day, has 
been traced in an earlier part of this volume. . The purpose of the 
following pages is to describe the present government and existent 
political institutions of the State. 

GOVEKNMENT. 

Constitution. The present Constitution of Maryland was formed by 
a convention assembled in Annapolis in May, 1867, and was ratified by 
popular vote in the following September. It is the fourth Constitution 
adopted in the history of the State, earlier instruments bearing date of 
1864, 1851 and 1776. It is preceded by a Declaration of Rights, containing 
forty-five articles, asserting the usual rights of trial by jury, freedom of 
speech, religious liberty, taxation according to actual worth, with declara- 
tions against retrospective and sanguinary laws, attainder, monopolies, 
trial by martial law, etc. The Constitution proper consists of fifteen 
articles, treating of elective franchise, executive department, legislative 
department, judiciary department, Attorney General and State's Attorneys, 
Treasury department, sundry officers (County Commissioners, Surveyors, 
State Librarian, Commissioner of the Land Office), education, militia and 
military affairs, labor and agriculture, public works, new counties, 
amendments, miscellaneous matters and vote on the Constitution. 

Administration. The government of Maryland follows the general 
theory of American political organization in a fundamental separation of 
departments. This is specifically provided in Article 8, of the Declara- 
tion of Rights, which asserts that " the legislative, executive and judicial 
powers of government ought to be forever separate and distinct from 
each other." For purposes of administration the State is divided into 
twenty-three counties, and the city of Baltimore, which is not comprised 
within the limits of any county. The local affairs of each county 
are regulated by a board of County Commissioners, elected by popular 
vote, but determined in number and term of office by special acts 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 381 

of the General Assembly. There is no general administrative sub- 
division of counties into townships, but school and election districts 
exist for the purposes indicated. The government of Baltimore is vested 
in a Mayor and City Council.* The local affairs of other minor civil 
divisions, cities, towns and villages, are variously controlled by a Mayor 
and Council, by a Burgess or President and Board of Commissioners, or 
by a Board of Commissioners alone. The manner of election and range 
of powers of these authorities are in each case defined by legislative 
charters, and by special acts of the legislature, passed from time to 
time. 

Executive. The executive power of the State is vested in a 
Governor, elected for a term of four years and receiving an annual salary 
of $4,500. He must have attained the age of thirty years, and must have 
been for ten years a citizen of Maryland, and for five years next preceding 
his election a resident of the State. He is the commander-in-chief of 
the land and naval forces of the State, may call out the militia to sup- 
press insurrections, repel invasions and enforce the execution of the 
laws, but can not take the command in person without the consent of the 
legislature. All legislative enactments must be submitted to his consid- 
eration, and his veto can be overruled only by a three-fifths vote of 
both houses. 

He has the usual power to grant reprieves and pardons and to remit 
fines and forfeitures to the State. He appoints, by and with the consent 
of the Senate, all civil and military officers of the State, whose election 
is not otherwise provided for, and is vested with general authority to 
secure the faithful execution of all laws. 

The Governor, upon election, appoints a Secretary of State, who 
continues in office during the gubernatorial term, and receives an annual 
salary of two thousand dollars. He keeps and preserves a careful record 
of all official acts and proceedings, and performs such other duties as are 
prescribed by law, or as properly belong to his office. 

Legislative. The legislative department consists of two distinct 
branches, a Senate and a House of Delegates, together styled the General 
Assembly of Maryland. Each county in the State, and each of the three 
legislative districts of Baltimore, is entitled to one Senator elected for a 
term of four years. The apportionment of representation in the House 
of Delegates is made upon the following basis : Counties having a 
population of eighteen thousand persons or less are entitled to two 
delegates ; those between eighteen thousand and twenty-eight thousand, 
to three delegates; between twenty-eight thousand and' forty thousand, 
to four delegates ; between forty thousand and fifty-five thousand, five 
delegates; and fifty- five thousand or more, six delegates. Each of the 

*For a more detailed account of the government of Baltimore, see page 361. 



382 MAKYLAND. 

legislative districts of Baltimore city is entitled to as many delegates as 
the largest county — six. 

No person is eligible as Senator until he has reached the age of 
twenty-five years, nor as Delegate until he has reached legal majority, 
nor to either office unless he has been a resident of Maryland for at least 
three years, and of the particular county or legislative district which he 
may be chosen to represent, for one year. The members of both bodies 
receive a compensation of five dollars per diem for actual service. 

The General Assembly meets biennially, and as the first Legislature 
under the Constitution of 1867 met in 1868, sessions always fall in even 
years. It convenes on the first Wednesday of January and continues in 
session for a period fixed by a constitutional limitation as not longer 
than ninety days. A special session may be convened by proclamation 
of the Governor, but may not sit longer than thirty days. 

Judicial. The judicial powers of the State are vested in a Court of 
Appeals, Circuit Courts, Orphans' Courts, Baltimore City Courts and 
Justices of the Peace. All judges, except those of the Orphans' Courts, 
are elected by popular vote for a term of fifteen years and are selected 
from those who have been admitted to practice law in the State, and who 
are " most distinguished for integrity, wisdom and sound legal knowledge" 
(Const, of Md., Art IV., Sect. 2). The State is divided into eight judicial 
circuits, in the following manner : Worcester, Somerset, Wicomico and 
Dorchester counties, first; Caroline, Talbot, Queen Anne, Kent and Cecil, 
second ; Baltimore and Harford, third ; Allegany, Washington and Garrett, 
fourth; Carroll, Howard and Anne Arundel, fifth; Montgomery and 
Frederick, sixth ; Prince George's, Charles, Calvert, St. Mary's, seventh ; 
Baltimore city, eighth. 

For each of the first seven of the above circuits, a chief judge and 
two associate judges are elected, who hold a Circuit Court of not less 
than two terms in each county. A clerk of the Circuit Court is elected 
by popular vote in every county for a term of six years. The salary of 
the chief judge is fixed at $4,500 per year, and that of an associate judge 
at $3,600. 

The judiciary of Baltimore consists of a chief judge and four associate 
judges, together styled the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City. The 
judges are elected for a term of fifteen years, and are assigned to the 
following courts : Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, Baltimore 
City Court, Criminal Court, Circuit Court and Circuit Court No. 2, the 
two latter being courts of equity. 

The Court of Appeals is composed of the chief judges of the first 
seven of the judicial circuits of the State, and a judge from the city of 
Baltimore specially elected thereto. The Governor designates one of 
this body by and with the consent of the Senate, as chief judge. A clerk 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 383 

of the Court of Appeals is elected by popular vote for a term of six 
years, and the sessions of the court are held in Annapolis. 

An Orphans' Court is located in each county of the State and in 
Baltimore city. It consists of three judges elected by popular vote for a 
term of four years, and exercises the functions of a Probate Court. A 
Register of Wills is similarly elected for a term of six years. He is 
eligible for re-election and subject to judicial removal for cause. 

Justices of the peace are appointed in the several counties by the 
Governor, and have jurisdiction in civil suits where the amount involved 
does not exceed one hundred dollars. Constables are appointed by the 
County Commissioners and by the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore 
for a term of two years, subject to judicial removal for incompetency or 
neglect of duty. A sheriff is elected in each county and in the city of 
Baltimore every second year. Coroners and notaries public are appointed 
by the Governor. 

Legal. The legal functions of the State are entrusted to an Attorney- 
General, elected by the voters for a term of four years, and receiving an 
annual salary of three thousand dollars. He must have resided and 
practiced law in the State for at least ten years before his election. He 
is charged with the prosecution and defense on the part of the State of 
all cases pending in the Court of Appeals, or in the United States Supreme 
Court. He is required to give his opinion in writing, whenever required 
by any public officer, upon any legal matter pending before him, and 
cannot receive any fees or perquisite in addition to the salary paid for 
the performance of his official duty. 

A State's Attorney is elected by popular vote in each county and in 
the city of Baltimore for a term of four years, and serves as the prose- 
cuting officer of the State in the particular district. He must have been 
admitted to practice law in the State, and have resided at least two 
years in the county or city in which he may be elected. 

FINANCES. 
The finances of the State are administered by a Treasury Depart- 
ment, consisting of a Comptroller, chosen biennially by popular vote, 
with an annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars, and a Treas- 
urer, appointed by the General Assembly at the same salary. The 
Comptroller is vested with a general superintendence of the fiscal affairs 
of the State. He prepares and reports estimates of revenue and expen- 
diture; enforces the prompt collection of all taxes; preserves all public 
accounts, and grants all warrants for money to be paid out of the treasury 
in pursuance of appropriations by law. The Treasurer receives and 
deposits the moneys of the State, and disburses the same upon warrants 



384 MAEYLAND. 

drawn by the Comptroller. He provides for the payment of the interest 
of the State debt, and for purchases on account of the sinking fund. 

Funded Debt. The net funded debt of Maryland aggregated on 
September 30, 1892, $3,082,286.35. The original loans, which have all 
been re-funded at 3 and 3tj% per cent., were issued to aid in the construc- 
tion of works of internal improvement, largely the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; for the erection of State 
institutions, and to assist in the public defence during the late war. The 
volume of indebtedness is being rapidly reduced — by the amount of 
$2,036,656.28 in 1892 — and will probably be entirely extinguished in a 
few years. The credit of the State is high, its bonds being sought for 
purposes of investment, and commanding premiums in the general 
market. The following is a detailed statement of the funded debt: 

Character of Loan. Maturity. Amount. 

3 per cent. Exchange Loan of 1886 1900 $ 638,355.00 

3 r s jV per cent. Defence Redemption Loan 1899 3,000,000.00 

3 per cent. Exchange Loan of 1886 1901 1,270,474.10 

3 per cent. Exchange Loan of 1889 1903 3,079,400.00 

3 per cent. Exchange Loan of 1891 1905 706,757.14 

Gross amount of Funded Debt $8,684,986.24 

As an offset to this debt, the State holds the following bonds and 
stocks, on which interest or dividends are paid : 

Stock in Washington Branch B. & O. R. R. Co $ 550,000.00 

" Farmer's National Bank of Annapolis 40,470.00 

" Annapolis Water Company 30,000.00 

Bonds of N. C. Railway Mortgage 1,500,000.00 

Bonds of Susquehanna and Tide- Water Canal Co 1,000,000.00 

Cash to Credit of Sinking Funds 1,485.46 

Stocks and Bonds to Credit of Sinking Funds 2,474,744.43 

$5,602,699.89 

Net debt after productive stocks held by the State and 

the Sinking Funds are deducted* $3,082,286.35 

Revenues. Article 14 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights (Art. 
XV.), declares that " every person in the State or persons holding property 
therein, ought to contribute his proportion of public taxes for the 
support of the government according to his actual worth in real and 
personal property." This is the basis of Maryland taxation. A direct 
tax is levied upon all real and personal property, for purposes of public 
education and to provide interest and sinking funds for the funded debt. 
It is imposed upon individual and corporate property, and upon the 

* "It is worthy of note that the productive stocks, with a single exception, held by the State, have a 
market value greatly in excess of their par value, and if a statement was prepared placing the State 
securities at their market, value, this net debt would be decreased by more than one-half." (Report of 
Comptroller for 1893, p. vi) . 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 



385 



capital stock of corporations, less the assessed value of parts of its capital 
already taxed or non-taxable. Personal property is listed by the state- 
ment of the taxable, and valued by the assessor. The last general 
assessment was made in 1876. Revisions are, however, made from year 
to year by the county boards and by the Appeal Tax Court of Baltimore 
City. A Tax Commissioner is apointed by the Board of Public Works 
for a term of four years, at an annual salary of twenty-five hundred 
dollars, to assess and revise for State purposes the shares of all incor- 
porated associations or institutions liable to taxation. 

The assessed value of property in 1877 — in which year the returns of 
the general assessment became first available — in 1891 and in 1892, and 
the amount realized in 1892, are as follows : 



Counties 

and 

Baltimore City. 



Allegany ....... . 

Anne Arundel . . . 
Baltimore City . . . 
Baltimore County 

Calvert 

Caroline 

Carroll 

Cecil 

Charles 

Dorchester 

Frederick 

Garrett 

Harford 

Howard 

Kent 

Montgomery 

Prince George's.. 

Queen Anne's 

St. Mary's 

Somerset 

Talbot 

7/ashington 

Wicomico 

Worcester 

Totals 



Assessed value 01 

property for 
State levy in 1877, 



$478,468,028 



Assessed value of 

property for 
State levy in 1891. 



i 16,082,934 

10,725,314 
276,408,052 

39,650,644 
2,037,800 
4,381,469 

15,885,655 

13,389,101 
3,322,016 
6,183,618 

23,139,041 
4,124,187 

12,137,415 
7,436,312 
7,759,640 
9,951,605 
9,005,217 
7,230,844 
2,831,924 
4,088,342 
8,634,056 

17,055,413 
4,065,605 
4,477,273 



$510,003,077 



Assessed value ot 

property for 
State levy in 1892 



$ 16,151,558 

10,874,049 
277,171,612 

41,359,723 
2,033,209 
4,351,415 

15,877,537 

13,271,949 
3,410,140 
6,193,888 

23,613,030 
4,261,610 

12,444,104 
7,515,094 
7,783,728 

10,425,220 
9,138,883 
7,544,416 
2,718,126 
4, 193,568 
8,698,294 

17,351,775 
4,149,119 
4,605,481 



§515,137,528 



Amount of levy 

for 1892 

at 17% cents 

on each $100.00. 



$ 2S,669 01 
19,301 44 
491,979 61 
73,413 50 
3,608 95 
7,723 74 
28,182 62 
23,557 70 
6,052 98 
10,994 15 
41,913 13 
7,564 36 
22,088 27 
13,339 29 
13,816 11 
18,504 76 
16,221 52 
13,391 34 
4,824 67 
7,443 57 
15,439 46 
30,799 40 
7,364 68 
8,174 72 



$914,36S 98 



RECAPITULATION FOR 1892. 

Amount of levy for public school tax, at 10% cents on each $100 $540,894 32 

Amount of levy for defence redemption tax, at 5% cents on each $100 283,325 60 

Amount of levy for treasury relief tax, at X% cents on each $100 77,270 62 

Amount of levy for exchange loan of 1886 tax, at }£ cent on each $100 12,878 44 

Total $914,368 98 

The rate of the State tax for each year since 1876 is as follows: 

1877 I'M per cent. 

1878 to 1887 18| per cent. 

1888 to 1892 17f per cent. 

Sources of revenue other than this general property tax, are the sale 
of traders' and other licenses, a bonus or franchise tax of one-eighth of 
25 



386 MARYLAND. 

one per cent, upon the capital stock of all newly created corporations, a 
franchise tax upon the deposits of saving institutions, a part of which 
accrues to the locality where the institution is located; a tax of one- 
half of one per cent, upon the gross receipts of electric light and electric 
construction companies; of one per cent, upon the gross receipts of 
railroad corporations ; and of a designated per cent, of the gross receipts 
of other specified corporations. A State tax is also imposed on collateral 
inheritances, and on commissions of executors and administrators. The 
excess of fees of public officers and the liquor license in Baltimore City 
constitute other sources of revenue. 

Receipts. The total receipts in the State Treasury for the fiscal year 
ended September 30, 1892, were $3,006,551.18. Of this aggregate the 
important items were as follows : 

Direct tax upon persons and incorporated institutions. . $902,770 12 

High Liquor License for Baltimore city *507,086 87 

Trader's License . . 189,764 52 

Foreign insurance companies 113,601 83 

Tax on gross receipts of corporations 133,016 34 

" " collateral inheritances 114,009 21 

" " executors' commissions 58,452 40 

Interest on invested Sinking Fund 171,514 65 

Exchange Loan of 1891 100,000 00 

Direct tax of 1861 from United States Government 371,299 83 

Expenditures. The total disbursements from the State Treasury 
during the fiscal year ended September 30, 1892, were §3,065,833.02. The 
principal items of expenditures were the following : 

Public Debt, interest $323,596 39 

Sinking Fund 404,387 58 

State Stock, for redemption 406,012 76 

Judiciary 100,992 28 

Legislative 122,829 49 

Public schools, white and colored 560,512 86 

Charitable, Reformatory and Penal Institutions 237,430 00 

Colleges and academies 67,317 29 

PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS. 

Board of Public Works. The Governor of the State, the Comp- 
troller of the Treasury and the State Treasurer constitute the Board of 
Public Works. Their duties are generally defined in Article XII of the 
Constitution of Maryland, as " a diligent and faithful supervision of all 
public works in which the State may be interested as stockholder or 
creditor." At the present time this consists in the appointment of 
directors for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the Washington Branch of 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and various other corporations in which 

"Of this amount, $380,169.79 was returned as required by law to Baltimore City. 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 387 

the State is, to a less degree, interested. The Board of Public Works 
also appoints, as will be seen hereafter, the officers of the State Fishery 
Force, together with certain special officers, such as the Tax Commissioner 
and the Insurance Commissioner. 

Militia. The history of the militia of Maryland is throughout a 
record of unflinching bravery in war and of timely service in riot and 
disorder. The close of the Revolutionary War found the State with five 
full regiments in the field. Many of them were converted into militia 
companies of one kind or another, which the Whiskey Insurrection, the 
threatened difficulties with France, and the imminent outbreak with 
England kept alive and strong. A large force of well-equipped volun- 
teers fought in the war of 1812, and during the Civil War, no class 
responded more promptly or served more gallantly than did the citizen 
soldiers of Maryland. Since the war the militia has rendered excellent 
service in the preservation of order. During the railroad strikes of 1877 
the Fifth Regiment, together with the Sixth, was called upon at an 
unexpected time to assist in maintaining law and order, and discharged 
its duty creditably under the most trying circumstances. Subsequent 
activity has been characterized by the same spirit. Animated by the 
same spirit and remarkable for its rapid development is the Fourth 
Regiment, the nucleus of which, the Baltimore Light Infantry, was 
organized in the winter of 1885. 

The Maryland National Guard was reorganized in its present form 
by an act of the Maryland Legislature passed in 1886, providing for a 
State military force of not more than two thousand two hundred and 
eighty men, formed in one brigade. At present the command is com- 
posed of the following organizations : 

First Regiment Infantry, nine companies, consisting of Frederick 
Rifles, Hagerstown Light Infantry, Linganore Guards, Jackson Guards, 
Governor's Guards, Waverley Guards, Towson Guards and Howard 
Zouaves. 

Fourth Regiment Infantry (Baltimore), nine companies, of sixty 
men each, with fifty-two officers, making the total strength of the 
regiment about six hundred men. 

Fifth Regiment Infantry (Baltimore), twelve companies of sixty 
men each, with sixty officers. The band of the regiment numbers 
seventy-five musicians. A Veteran Corps, consisting of three companies, 
with a full strength of one hundred and fifty men, maintains fellowship 
among ex-members of the regiment. 

Second Battalion Infantry, four companies, consisting of Voltigeurs 
(Cumberland), Garrett Guards (Oakland), and Hamilton Light Infantry 
(Frostburg). 



388 MARYLAND. 

Third Battalion Infantry, five companies, consisting of Groome 
Guards, Prince George's Rifles, Talbot County Guards, Lloyd Guards and 
Calvert County Company. 

Monumental City Guards (Baltimore), independent colored company. 

Baltimore Rifles (Baltimore), independent colored company. 

Alleghany County Guards (Cumberland), independent colored com- 
pany. 

Fishery Force. The Maryland State Fishery Force consists of two 
steamers, nine schooners and two sloops, armed and equipped as a naval 
militia to enforce the oyster fishery laws of the State. Eight local boats 
are paid by the counties to watch the waters within their jurisdiction, 
but are under the control of the State navy. The movements of the force 
are directed by a commander appointed, as are all the subordinate 
officers, by the Board of Public Works. Each of the steamers is controlled 
by a deputy commander, and each of the schooners and sloops by a 
captain. The territories protected by the local boats are Poplar Island 
Narrows, Cambridge, Herring Bay, Holland Straits, St. Mary's River, St. 
Michael's and Oxford. The Governor McLane is the flagship of the 
navy. The outfit of the regular boats, as distinguished from the local 
boats, consists of Winchester rifles and one cannon each. The steamers 
have each a crew of twelve men, and the schooners and sloops each of 
six. The local boats, which are only employed for six months of the 
year, have each a crew of four men. They carry no cannon, but are 
armed with Winchester rifles. 

Tobacco Inspector. From early provincial days, measures have 
been taken in Maryland to maintain a high standard of excellence in the 
production of its chief staple. The various statutes adopted from time 
to time were systematized in a Tobacco Code, passed in 1763. It 
consisted of one hundred and fifty-three sections providing in great 
detail for the inspection, sampling and shipping of tobacco. This code 
has since been supplemented and revised at intervals. To facilitate 
inspection, a number of tobacco warehouses have been erected in Balti- 
more, the first as early as 1823. At present three are in activity, each 
under the direction of an inspector, biennially appointed by the Governor 
at an annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars, and a subordinate 
force similarly appointed. The general supervision of the system is 
entrusted to a Supervisor of Warehouses, appointed for a term of two 
years at an annual salary of twenty-five hundred dollars. 

Land Office. A Land Office, distinct from other public departments, 
was created in Maryland as early as 1680. Its functions were adminis- 
tered by a Land Council, and included the disposition and regulation of 
all public lands, whether by lease or sale. The Confiscation Act of 1780 
vested in the State all lands belonging to the Proprietary and other 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 389 

British owners. In 1781 a portion of these lands was allotted to Maryland 
officers and soldiers who had served in the War of Revolution, and a Land 
Office was created for the Western Shore, and another for the Eastern 
Shore, under the direction and care of Registers. The two offices were 
united in 1851 at Annapolis. Subsequent legislation has materially 
enlarged the character and scope of the department. Its administration 
is vested in a Commissioner of the Land Office appointed by the Governor 
for a term of four years and receiving an annual salary of fifteen hundred 
dollars, together with a commission oh the fees of office. He is required 
to make searches and furnish copies of land patents ; to prescribe rules 
for and regulate the conduct of County Surveyors in making surveys and 
returning certificates and plats ; and to hear and decide upon all caveats 
which may come before him as Commissioner. 

Bureau of Statistics and Information. A Bureau of Industrial 
Statistics and Information was established in Maryland in 1884, and 
biennial reports published upon the industrial and social condition of 
the State. In 1892 the Bureau was reorganized and its scope largely 
extended. As now constituted, the department is in charge of a Chief 
of the Industrial Bureau, appointed by the Governor for a term of two 
years, at an annual salary of $2,500. The work of the Bureau includes 
the collection of information and statistical data concerning the condition 
of labor, the agricultural and mineral products of the State, and the 
traffic of railroads and transportation companies, and of shipping and 
commerce. The information so gathered is collated and published in an 
annual report. The Bureau is located in Baltimore at the southwest 
corner of Charles and Saratoga streets, and it is here that all inquiries 
suggested by and unanswered in the present volume should be addressed. 

Maryland State Weather Bureau. A Bureau for the reception of 
meteorological reports and the display of warning signals for the States 
of Maryland and Delaware, was organized in May, 1891, under the joint 
auspices of the Johns Hopkins University, the Maryland Agricultural 
College and the United States Weather Bureau. The service occupies 
quarters in the Physical Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University, on 
Monument street and Linden avenue, with Dr. C. P. Cronk, of the United 
States Weather Bureau, as meteorologist in charge. Sub-stations are 
located in all the counties of Maryland, and also in Delaware, from which 
reports are regularly received and where warning signals are displayed. 

State Board of Education. The general care and supervision of 
public education in Maryland is vested in a State Board of Education, 
consisting of four persons, appointed by the Governor at every regular 
session of the General Assembly and serving without salary, the Gov- 
ernor himself and the principal of. the State Normal School. They 
exercise general supervision over Boards of County School Commissioners, 



390 MAKYLAND. 

examine candidates, when requested, for the office of County Examiners, 
and issue professional certificates to teachers. They are ex-officio trustees 
of the State Normal School, and are vested with its general administra- 
tion and control. Each Board of County School Commissioners and all 
schools and colleges receiving State appropriations are required to make 
to them an annual report of all matters affecting educational interests in 
the county. County Boards are also requested to submit a statement of 
receipts, disbursements and indebtedness. An abstract of these reports, 
together with a statement of the apportionment of money to the counties 
and Baltimore city, and such suggestions regarding the educational 
interests of the State as are deemed expedient, is submitted in an annual 
report to the Governor. 

State Board of Health. This board has general care of the sanitary 
interests of the people of Maryland. It consists oE seven members — 
three physicians, one civil engineer, a secretary, the attorney-general of 
the State {ex-offieio), and the health commissioner of Baltimore [ex- 
offieio) — appointed by the Governor for a term of four years, and serving 
without compensation. The secretary is, however, elected by the board 
upon organization, and receives an annual salary of eighteen hundred 
dollars. The functions of the board include a general supervision over 
the health of the State, investigations into the presence and causes of 
disease, epidemics and nuisances in specific localities, and the collection 
of vital statistics. 

Two Boards of Medical Examiners, consisting of seven physicians 
each, appointed for a term of four years, and respectively representing 
the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, and the Maryland 
Homoeopathic Medical Society, examine and license persons qualified to 
practice medicine in the State. 

A Board of Examiners of Dental Surgery, composed of the 
attorney-general, the health commissioner of Baltimore and five practic- 
ing dentists, appointed by the Governor for four years, and serving 
without compensation, examine and issue certificates to all persons 
practicing dentistry within the State. Three Commissioners of Phar- 
macy are biennially appointed by the Governor upon nomination of the 
Maryland College of Pharmacy, to license practical pharmacists in the 
State. A State Lunacy Commission, composed of six competent persons 
appointed by the Governor, and serving without compensation, with the 
attorney-general as a member ex-officio, exercise supervision over all 
institutions, public and private, in which insane persons are confined. 
The protection of domestic animals from contagious and infectious 
diseases is vested in a Live Stock Sanitary Board, consisting of three 
commissioners appointed by the Governor, and receiving a per diem 
compensation for actual service. Two Commissioners of Fisheries, at 



POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. 391 

an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars each, have charge of the 
propagation, culture and preservation of food fishes in the waters of the 
State. Two Inspectors of Steam, Boilers, biennially appointed by the 
Governor at the same salary, inspect, register, and, if necessary, condemn, 
stationary steam boilers throughout the State. 

An Insurance Commissioner, appointed by the Board of Public 
Works for a term of four years at an annual salary of $2,500, issues 
licenses to insurance companies and maintains the standard of solvency 
fixed by State law. The interests of the mine labor of the State are 
entrusted to a Commissioner of Mines for Alleghany and Garrett 
counties,, appointed by the Governor at an annual salary of $1,500. He 
makes periodic investigations of the condition of all mines, sees to the 
enforcement of all laws relating to mine ventilation, is an inspector of 
mining scales and weights, investigates all loss of life in mines, and may 
institute suit if the accident arises from the overseer's violation of law. 

A State Vaccine Agent, appointed by the Governor for a term of six 
years at an annual salary of $600, procures and supplies virus to physicians 
throughout the State. 

Flag and Seal. The great seal of Maryland has already been 
described and explained in the Historical Sketch. The flag of the State 
bears the escutcheon of the seal. This device seems to have been 
adopted by common consent, as there is no record of the formal adoption 
of any design as the official flag of the State. That the colony had a 
distinct flag or standard, we know. The first recorded instance of the 
use of a Maryland flag occurs in Leonard Calvert's report of the reduction 
of Kent Island (February, 1638), in which he says that he and his force 
marched with Baltimore's banner displayed. At the battle of the Severn 
in 1655, where the supporter* of the proprietary government under 
William Stone, the Governor, were defeated by the Parliamentary party 
under Captain William Fuller, Stone's forces marched under the flag of 
Maryland, borne by William Nugent, "standard-bearer of the Province;" 
while Fuller's party displayed the flag of the Commonwealth, charged 
with the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. It is also said that a 
Maryland flag was carried by the Marylanders who accompanied Brad- 
dock's expedition against Fort Du Quesne in 1756. 

A Maryland flag was presented at the outbreak of the late war to 
the Frederick Volunteers, an organization which afterwards became part 
of the First Maryland Regiment, C. S. A. ; and it was carried from the 
first battle of Manassas, July 21, 1861, to the surrender at Appomattox, 
April 9, 1865. 



392 MARYLAND. 

It is almost superfluous to add that Marylanders take great pride in 
their beautiful and historic flag. It forms a part of the stands of colors 
of the principal militia commands, and is displayed at the City Hall on 
occasions of public festivity. 

Federal Representation. Maryland is entitled to elect six represent- 
atives to the United States Congress, of whom two are entirely and two 
partly chosen by the votes of Baltimore city. The composition of the 
Congressional districts is as follows: 1. Worcester, Somerset, Wicomico, 
Dorchester, Talbot, Queen Anne's, Caroline and Kent counties. 2. Cecil, 
Harford, Carroll counties; districts two to twelve of Baltimore county; 
wards Eleven, precinct No. 9, Twenty-one, Twenty-two of Baltimore city. 
3. Wards One, Two, Three, 'Four, Five, Six, Seven, Fifteen and Sixteen of 
Baltimore city. 4. Wards Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, precincts one to 
eight inclusive, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Eighteen, Nineteen of Balti- 
more city. 5. St. Mary's, Cnarles, Calvert, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, 
Howard and Baltimore counties, districts one and thirteen, Baltimore city, 
ward Seventeen. 6. Alleghany, Garrett, Washington, Frederick, Mont- 
gomery counties. 

The law provides that of the two United States Senators from Mary- 
land, one shall be chosen from the Eastern, and the other from the 
Western Shore. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 



CHURCHES AND RELIGTOUS INSTITUTIONS. 



The history of the many religions organizations now existing in the 
State of Maryland cannot be written within the compass of a dozen pages, 
nor can any adequate showing be made of their present activity and 
boundless possibilities. Scores of volumes have been written upon the 
past, hundreds of pages of statistics published to show the condition of 
the present. The present paper, therefore, avoiding detailed statements 
of past and present, gives only brief synopses of every current phase of 
religious life within the State. Where the general history of any one 
denomination becomes closely linked with the State, where important 
church councils have been held on Maryland soil, this local connection 
has been brought out ; but no attempt has been made to give a connected 
history. The very complicated system of administrative divisions in the 
larger denominations has also been explained in so far as it has any con- 
nection with our Maryland churches. Nearly one-half the chapter is 
taken up with describing briefly the many and varied forms of organiza- 
tions and associations which have grown up under the protecting wing of 
the churches with the idea of making religion more attractive to certain 
classes, and thus more effective in its main purpose. 

CHURCH STATISTICS. 

The present strength of the various denominations within the State 
is shown by the accompanying table, which has been compiled from the 
results of the eleventh census (1890). Nearly a third of the figures are 
from unpublished tabulations and are here given through the courtesy of 
Rev. H. K. Carroll, L.L.D., special agent of the Census Bureau in charge 
of the statistics of churches : 



394 



MARYLAND. 



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CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 395 



THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 

Though Lord Baltimore originally intended that Maryland should be 
a safe home for his Catholic co-religionists, the effects of his policy of 
toleration lasted only until the Protestant revolution of 1688, when the 
Catholics in the colony were disfranchised, subjected to double taxes and 
compelled to support Protestant clergy and erect Protestant churches. 
This state of things continued until the War of the Revolution. No 
churches could be erected, and Catholics had only private chapels in the 
homes of the wealthy, or received periodical visits from priests, chiefly 
Jesuits, who carried the vestments and the sacred vessels with them. 
The suppression of this Order by the Pope in 1773 cut off even this 
source of supply, and until the close of the Revolution the Church was 
badly crippled. The few remaining clergy petitioned the Pope for a 
national organization and a local superior, and in 1784 the Rev. John 
Carroll was made Prefect Apostolic in the United States, with his head- 
quarters at Baltimore. 

In 1789 he was promoted to a Bishopric, and in 1808 Baltimore was 
raised to the dignity of an Archi episcopal See. Since that time it has 
frequently been divided and subdivided on account of the rapidity of 
Catholic growth ; but in 1858, by a decree of the Propaganda, " the 
prerogative of peace was granted to the See of Baltimore, so that in 
councils, assemblies and in meetings of every kind precedence was given 
to the Archbishop of Baltimore, and the seat of honor above every other 
Archbishop." Three times the holder of the See has been specially 
appointed Apostolic Legate at the national councils of the Church, and 
in 1886 the present Archbishop, Most Rev. Dr. James Gibbons, was 
promoted to membership in the College of Cardinals. 

The Archbishop of Baltimore has provincial jurisdiction over the 
Bishoprics of Charleston, Richmond, Savannah, St. Augustine, Wheeling, 
Wilmington and North Carolina — this including every Southern State 
from Delaware to Florida. The Episcopal Diocese of Baltimore proper 
includes the Western Shore of Maryland and the District of Columbia, 
and is by far the largest of the eight Sees in the province. The counties 
on the Eastern Shore are under the jurisdiction of the Bishopric of 
Wilmington, which was established in 1868. The strength of the 
Catholic Church in Maryland lies in Carroll county and Baltimore, the 
two together containing two-thirds of the Catholic population. The 
Church is also very strong in the Southern tier of counties — St. Mary's, 
Prince George's, Charles and Anne Arundel — and among the mining popu- 
lation of Allegany. 

Fourteen important Church councils have occurred at the Cathedral 
in Baltimore, of which ten were "Provincial" and three "Plenary." 



396 



MARYLAND. 



The former are always attended by the Bishops of a province ; the latter by 
the whole Hierarchy of the United States. The object of these councils 
is 'usually to bring about concerted action in matters of Church discipline. 
The last Plenary Council was held here in 1884, and was one of the most 
important ecclesiastical gatherings ever held in America, both in point 
of numbers and in the results growing out of its deliberations. In 1889 
there was convened the first Catholic Congress at which lay members 
were permitted to take part in the discussion of Catholic affairs. It was 
attended by prominent laymen from every Diocese. 

THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church has the distinction of being the 
first denomination to be represented within the bounds of Maryland. In 
1629, five years before Lord Baltimore's colonists arrived at St. Mary's, 
services were held at Claiborne's trading-post on Kent Island, by a duly- 
ordained minister of the Church of England. The Church spread 
rapidly after the coming of Baltimore's followers, and in 1642, a Jesuit 
provincial writes that "by far the greater number of the colonists are 
heretics" (i. e. Episcopalians). From 1688 to 1692 occurred the "Protest- 
ant Revolution," which ended in the establishment of the Church of 
England by act of Assembly in 1692. The territory of the colony was 
divided into parishes, and a tax, payable in tobacco, voted for the 
support of the Church. The number of clergymen and communicants 
steadily increased during the next seventy-five years, but the Church 
establishments were odious to a majority of the people because of their 
inefficiency, and because of the general tax for their maintenance. The 
Revolution seriously threatened the very existence of the Church, and 
at its close the number of its clergy was found to be reduced one-half. 
In August, 1783, the remaining clergy met and organized the Diocese of 
Maryland, which, however, remained without a bishop until 1792, when 
Bishop Claggett was installed, being the first bishop consecrated by the 
American episcopate. This convention of 1783 is important because of a 
historical document called "A Declaration of Certain Fundamental 
Rights and Liberties of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Maryland." 
According to the late Bishop Whittingham, this is the earliest use of the 
words which were afterward selected for the title of the Church in 
America. 

The policy of the Episcopal Church has always been to make the 
limits of the separate dioceses coincide with the State lines, and until 
the year 1868, the Diocese of Maryland included the whole of Maryland 
and the whole of the District of Columbia. At that time, however, the 
Eastern Shore counties were formed into a separate diocese, called the 
Diocese of Easton. The original diocese is much the larger of the two, 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 397 

having nearly ten times as many communicants as the Easton diocese. 
More than one-half of the total number in Maryland are to be found in 
the city of Baltimore. The Church is also very strong in Anne Arundel, 
Baltimore, Prince George's and Charles counties. The General Conven- 
tion has thrice held its triennial sessions in Baltimore. The first occasion 
was in 1808 and the second in 1871. The former is important because it 
was the first of the general conventions at which a tendency for closer 
church union became noticeable, while the latter was held just on the 
eve of the Low-Church defection, which resulted in the formation of the 
Reformed Episcopal Church. In 1892 the General Convention again 
assembled in Baltimore, at Emmanuel Church, and among other things 
thoroughly revised the liturgy of the Church. 

THE METHODIST CHURCHES. 

During the first thirty years in the history of Methodism in America, 
the State of Maryland was the centre of nearly all of its activity. It 
was about 1766 that Robert Strawbridge, a Wesleyan local preacher, from 
Ireland, gathered a small number of people in Frederick county, and 
organized what Bishop Asbury believed to be the first Methodist con- 
gregation in America. From this place the spread of Methodism in the 
colonies was carried on by Strawbridge and others with gratifying results. 
Baltimore soon became an important centre, and from 1775 until 1784, 
when the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed, it was the meeting- 
place of the annual conferences of the Methodist churches in America. 
The convention which organized the Methodist Episcopal Church also 
met in Baltimore in 1784, eighty-three itinerant ministers being present 
from various parts of this country. Francis Asbury became one of the 
two bishops of the new Church, and made Baltimore his episcopal resi- 
dence for many years. The society was at first opposed to general con- 
ferences, and until the bounds of the annual conferences were marked out 
in 1792, Baltimore conference was the first in point of members and 
importance. The first college of the denomination, Cokesbury College, 
was established in Harford county, in 1785, and it is worthy of note, also, 
that the first native itinerant preacher, and the first native local preacher, 
were both Marylanders. The first general conference of the Church 
assembled in Baltimore in 1792, and until 1812 the quadrennial sessions 
of that body were all held in the same place. In 1820 and 1824, in 1840, 
and again in 1876, the conference returned to Baltimore. In 1884, on the 
suggestion of the M. E. Church South, the centennial of American 
Methodism was celebrated in Baltimore by a congress which included 
representatives of every branch of the Church. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church in Maryland at the present time is 
largely under the jurisdiction of three Annual Conferences, all of which 



398 MARYLAND. 

assembled in March, of each year. The Baltimore conference is the 
largest of the three ; it has 360 ministers and local preachers connected 
with it, and includes churches in the counties of the Western Shore, in 
Washington, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The boundaries of the 
conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church frequently overlap each 
other, and it is not, therefore, surprising to find that the Washington 
conference, with its 340 preachers, occupies nearly the same field as the 
Baltimore conference, with the addition of the upper counties of Virginia. 
The churches on the Eastern Shore of Maryland belong to the Wilmington 
conference and the Delaware conference. The Garrett county congrega- 
tion are united with the West Virginia conference, and several German 
Methodist churches in Baltimore are affiliated with the East German 
conference. 

The Methodist Protestant Church had its beginnings in Maryland, 
which is still the third largest State in the number of its communicants. 
The separation of the denomination from the Episcopal Methodist 
government was the outcome of a movement for church reform by the 
admission of the laity to a share in the administration. In 1824 a Union 
Society was formed in Baltimore having this object in view, and a 
periodical started in that city to advocate it. In 1827 a convention of 
the reformers was held in Baltimore, and drew up a petition, which was 
rejected by the general conference of 1828. The Baltimore society started 
anew an agitation which resulted in the expulsion of its leaders from the 
church. Many sympathizers followed them, and in 1828 a convention 
was held in Baltimore, which drew up a provisional form of organization. 
Two years later another gathering took place in the same city, and the 
Methodist Protestant (Jhurch was constituted. Baltimore continued to 
be the centre of the denominational work, and the general conferences 
frequently assembled here and elsewhere in the State. That of 1877 is 
noteworthy for the reunion which then took place between the parent 
body and a large body of members who had seceded on the question of 
slavery and formed " The Methodist Church." The Methodist Protestant 
Church in Maryland is strongest numerically in Baltimore city and the 
counties immediately adjacent, and on the Eastern Shore. Its governing 
body is the Maryland Conference, which is the largest of the church 
conferences, and includes also Delaware and portions of Virginia, West 
Virginia and Pennsylvania. The colored churches belong to the Balti- 
more Colored Mission. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church South was very slightly represented 
in Maryland until the outbreak of the civil war. According to the " plan 
of separation" drawn up in 1844, the Baltimore Conference adhered to 
the Northern Church, and continued in this relation until 1860. The 
General Conference of that year so changed the book of discipline that 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 399 

in 1861 the Baltimore Conference determined to submit no longer to the 
General Conference of the Northern Church. During the four years of 
the war it maintained an independent position; but in 1866 it determined 
by a unanimous vote to unite with the M. E. Church South. Several 
churches of that denomination having been organized in Maryland since 
the war, the local conference was rearranged and finally reconstructed in 
the form which it now has. The Baltimore Conference includes eighteen 
of the twenty-one counties in which the denomination is represented in 
Maryland, beside Washington and parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia and 
West Virginia. Dorchester, Wicomico and Worcester counties are 
included in the Virginia Conference. One of the bishops of the M. E. 
Church South has his episcopal residence in Baltimore, which is also the 
home of two bishops of the colored Methodist churches — one of the 
African M. E. Church, the other of the African M. E. Zion Church. The 
strength of these colored churches lies almost entirely in the city, the 
former being much wealthier and more influential. The two denomina- 
tions have recently decided to unite under the name of the African and 
Zion M. E. Church. 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The early history of the Presbyterian Church in America is very 
closely associated with colonial Maryland. According to the generally 
received account, the first Presbyterian Church in America was organized 
at Snow Hill, Md., about the close of the seventeenth century, by the 
Rev. Francis Makemie, an Irish clergyman, who had been invited to 
Maryland by a member of Lord Baltimore's Council. According to 
another account, the first congregation is to be found still earlier, at 
Annapolis, among the so-called Puritans who settled there from Virginia 
in 1649. But whether founded in 1649 or 1700, the fact still remains that 
the Presbyterian faith spread rapidly in Maryland during colonial days, 
and Maryland members of the denomination were prominent in organizing 
the first Presbytery, that of Philadelphia, in 1707. Since those times, 
however,. the Church has not grown with the same rapidity in this State 
as elsewhere ; and in the order of numerical strength, Maryland is now 
the fifteenth State on the Presbyterian roll. In the controversies which 
have cut up the parent body, the Presbyterians of Maryland took no 
leading part, although some fifteen hundred of them are members of the 
Southern branch of the Church. 

The Maryland Presbyterians in the Northern body are included in 
three Presbyteries — those of Baltimore, which is entirely in Maryland; 
Washington City, which includes Montgomery and Prince George's 
counties, and Newcastle, which includes the counties on the Eastern 
Shore. These three are part of the Synod of Baltimore, which was 



400 MARY.LAND. 

carved out of the Synod of PMladelpMa in 1854. The Southern Presby- 
terians are all included in the Presbytery of Maryland, except one 
congregation in Garrett county, which belongs to the Winchester 
Presbytery. 

THE FRIENDS. 

The early history of the Quakers in America is likewise closely 
associated with colonial Maryland, for it was on the Patuxent River that 
George Fox, the founder of the sect, landed in 1672 on his first visit to 
America. Here he found a small body of his followers suffering perse- 
cution from the colonists because of their refusal to bear arms, and with 
them he organized at West River, Anne Arundel county, in the same year, 
the second yearly meeting of Friends in America, the first having been 
formed in 1661 in Rhode Island. The Friends in Maryland at the present 
time are found chiefly in Baltimore city and Harford, Baltimore, Mont- 
gomery and Carroll counties. The Orthodox Friends belong to the 
Baltimore Yearly Meeting, which includes Washington and portions of 
Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Hicksite Friends have also formed a 
Baltimore Yearly Meeting, covering nearly the same territory, but 
including almost three times as many members. 

THE GERMAN CHURCHES. 

The prominence in Maryland of the Lutheran, German Reformed 
and United Brethren Churches can easily be accounted for by the 
constant stream of German immigration which has been pouring into 
the State since the beginning of the eighteenth century. The members 
of these three denominations are nearly all German by birth or descent, 
and in more than half of their congregations German is used to the 
exclusion of English, or side by side with it. The strength of these 
German churches is found in Baltimore city and county, in Carroll, 
Frederick, Washington and Garrett counties, all of which contain the 
chief settlements of the German immigrants into the State. 

Maryland is very intimately associated with the movement for 
Lutheran union which resulted in the formation of the General Synod in 
1820. The first meeting at which the matter was discussed was held in 
Baltimore in 1819, the plan for union formally drawn up at Hagerstown 
in 1820, and the first regular meeting of the General Synod held at 
Frederick in 1821. Since that time this supreme body has several times 
met at various places in Maryland. 

In the dissensions which have split up the Lutheran Church in 
America into a dozen branches, the members of the faith in Maryland 
have never taken a prominent part. A large majority of them still 
belong to the parent body — the General Synod — but the Synodical 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 401 

Conference and the Ohio Synod each have a following of several 
thousand. The adherents to the General Synod are members of the 
Synod of Maryland, which also includes congregations in neighboring 
States. It is the oldest and next to the largest synod of that body. 

The United Brethren Church had its origin and organization in 
Baltimore more than a century ago, under Rev. William Otterbein, a 
Lutheran clergyman, who came to Baltimore in 1770, and in 1774 
organized what he called an Evangelical Reformed Church, which 
became the centre of a considerable conference of churches under the 
name of the United Brethren. He and Rev. Martin Boehm were the first 
superintendents, or bishops; and under the care of these men and their 
successors, the Church has grown to be one of the most important of the 
German-American sects. The geographical boundaries of the local 
synods are not well defined, and the members of the Church in Maryland 
are contained in no less than three synods. 

Maryland is also one of the strongest centres of the Reformed (German) 
Church, ranking after Pennsylvania and Ohio in the order of numerical 
strength. Its members are included under (1) the Maryland Classis, which 
contains the English members of the Church, and belongs to the Synod of 
the Potomac ; (2^ the German Maryland Classis, belonging to the German 
Synod of the East. 

THE BAPTIST CHUECH. 

The Baptists, too, are not closely united under any form of church 
administration, but nearly all the separate congregations in the State are 
connected with the Maryland Union Baptist Association, which was 
formed in 1836, with six churches, four ministers and three hundred and 
forty -five members. It originally included the churches of the District 
of Columbia, but the last of these withdrew in 1879 to join a District 
association. The union has no legislative authority, but merely advises 
the separate congregations on points of discipline and government. It 
holds meetings annually, but during the interim its place is taken by an 
Executive Board, which meets bi-monthly. For local and social purposes 
the Baptist congregations in the State are divided into three district 
associations — Eastern, Middle and Western. The main strength of the 
denomination lies in the city of Baltimore. Nearly one-half of the 
total membership is comprised in the colored churches, which have 
recently organized a separate State body under the name of the Maryland 
Baptist State Convention. 

THE JEWS. 

It was not until the year 1825 that the people of Maryland removed 
all political disabilities from the Jews, and admitted them to public 



402 MARYLAND. 

office. There were at that time only one hundred and fifty Jews in the 
State, but after their enfranchisement the influx of co-religionists was 
rapid and continuous. It is now estimated that there are over ten 
thousand Hebrews in the State, though this showing does not appear in 
the official statistics because of the fact that only heads of families are 
customarily enrolled as members. Their congregations are entirely 
autonomous, and there is no form of association or union existing between 
them. The Orthodox Jews have three congregations in Baltimore ; the 
Reformed Jews, eight in Baltimore and one in Allegany county. 

CHURCH ARCHITECTURE. 

One of the most noticeable tendencies in Maryland churches during 
the past twenty-five years has been the erection of large and costly 
structures, embodying the latest and most original ideas of church 
architecture. This has been more particularly the case in Baltimore, 
where by means of the increasing wealth of congregations, and the 
generosity of influential members, the plainer structures of the past have 
given way to beautiful buildings whose total cost has been estimated at 
several millions of dollars. This tendency has not been confined to one 
or two denominations, but has included nearly all. Of eight churches 
which may be taken as the most typical examples, two are Presbyterian, 
two Methodist, two Hebrew, one Catholic and one an independent body. 
All but two of them are the work of local architects. The earliest was 
the First Presbyterian Church, a brownstone structure, erected in 1859, 
and modeled by the architects after the Gothic Cathedral at Freiburg. 
Mt. Vernon M. E. Church was completed in 1872, after designs by the 
late Charles L. Carson, of Baltimore, and is said to be one of the hand- 
somest Methodist churches in this country. It is decorated English 
Gothic in its design, the materials used in its construction being mainly 
serpentine, from quarries in Baltimore county. Mr. Carson was also the 
architect of the magnificent Byzantine structure occupied by the 
Baltimore Hebrew congregation. His successor, Mr. Joseph E. Sperry, was 
the architect of the stately marble Synagogue of the Oheb Shalom 
congregation, now nearly completed. This edifice, with its massive 
dome, occupies a commanding position on one of the highest hills in the 
city. It is in the Free .Renaissance style, the marble used in its construc- 
tion being from Baltimore county. In 1887 the new building of the First 
M. E. Church was completed after designs by McKim, Mead and White, 
of New York. It is a granite structure, of Lombardic design, and was 
modeled very closely after the famous cathedral at Ravenna. A very 
original design in the Romanesque style is the new home of the 
Associate Reformed Church, erected in 1889, by Charles E. Cassell, of 
Baltimore. Mr. Cassell also designed the English Gothic edifice occupied 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 



403 



by the Boundary Avenue Presbyterian Church, and was associated in the 
construction of the stately Decorated Gothic structure of the Corpus 
Christi Catholic Church. 

SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 

The work of the Sunday schools in Maryland has, in the past thirty 
years, been largely under the supervision of the Maryland Sunday School 
Union, which was formed in 1856. Of recent years the work has grown 
very rapidly, until the membership of the Protestant Sunday schools is 
larger than that of the churches themselves. The following statistics of 
the Sunday school organizations in Baltimore and the various counties 
have been obtained through the courtesy of Mr. William A. Baker, State 
Superintendent of the Union : 






6« 



Allegany 

Anne Arundel 

Baltimore 

Baltimore City. .. 

Calvert 

Caroline 

Carrol 1 

Cecil 

Charles 

Dorchester 

Frederick 

Garrett 

Howard 

Harford 

Kent 

Montgomery 

Prince George's.. 

Queen Anne's 

St. Mary's 

Somerset 

Talbot 

Washington 

Wicomico 

Worcester 

Catholic in City . . 
Catholic in County 
Hebrew in City . . . 

Totals 



84 
99 
212 



120 
78 
33 
74 
156 
115 
36 
98 
56 
80 
74 



63 
161 
52 



1,248 
978 

2,416 

9,031 
401 
726 

1,507 
867 
201 
922 

2,326 
932 
422 

1,023 



613 
744 
136 
915 

744 
2,206 
584 
827 
315 
153 
55 



9,635 
7,268 

18,294 

93.313 
2,497 
3,575 
9,250 
6,893 
1,365 
5,824 

15,252 
3,280 
3,103 
6,520 
4,953 
5,090 
4,525 
5,105 
891 
6,899 
5,414 

11,230 
4,368 
5,456 

13,825 

5,364 

739 



10,883 
8,246 

20,710 

102,344 

2,898 

4,301 

10,757 
7,760 
1,566 
6,746 

17,578 
4,212 
3,525 
7,543 
5,618 
5,850 
5,138 
5,849 
1,027 
7.814 

e;iss 

13,436 
4,952 
6,283 

14,140 

5,517 

794 



6,329 
4,601 

13,426 

67,473 
1,757 
3,237 
8,148 
5,222 
1,107 
4,499 

11,232 
2,922 
2,254 
5,042 
3,505 
3,913 
3,308 
3,872 
633 
4,913 
3,S55 
8,882 
3,003 
4,027 

10,359 
4,114 



16,004 
13,126 
28,070 
167,282 
3,796 
5,353 
12,465 
9,953 
5,843 
9,565 
19,062 
5,472 
6,263 
11,162 
6,726 
10,466 
10,041 
7,107 
6,090 
9,300 
7,598 
15,316 
7,673 



2,434 



31,717 



259,928 



291,645 



192,253 



RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. 



The most prominent of the many Catholic orders within the State 
are the Redemptorists, Jesuits, Passionists, Sulpicians, Brothers of the 
Christian Schools and Xaverian Brothers. The Redemptorists are mainly 
engaged in pastoral work among the foreign Catholic population, and 



404 MARYLAND. 

have five residences at churches in Baltimore city. That connected with 
St. Alphonsus Church is likewise the residence of a provincial of the 
order. The Redemptorists have a house for novices at Annapolis, con- 
taining nine priests, three choir novices and sixteen lay brothers; and a 
house for theological study at Ilchester, Howard county, containing 
twenty-two priests, seventy-three professed students and twenty lay 
brothers. The total number of members of the order in the State is not 
far from two hundred. The Jesuits are engaged in teaching in Baltimore 
and Frederick, and in mission work in Southern Maryland. They have 
a seminary at Woodstock, a novitiate at Frederick and Loyola College, a 
secular institution in Baltimore. The Passionists have a monastery near 
Catonsville, Baltimore county, and supply many missions in the 
immediate neighborhood. The Sulpicians control St. Sulpice Seminary, 
St. Mary's University, St. Joseph's Seminary and Epiphany Apostolic 
College, in Baltimore, and St. Charles College, Howard county. The 
Brothers of the Christian Schools have a novitiate at Ammendale, Prince 
George's county, which is likewise the residence of a provincial of the 
order. Its members conduct Rock Hill College, Ellicott city; Calvert 
Hall, Baltimore; St. Vincent's Male Orphan Asylum, Baltimore, and 
many parochial schools in Baltimore. The work of the Xaverian 
Brothers is very similar. They have a novitiate in Baltimore county, 
which is also the residence of the provincial; a community in St. 
Patrick's Parish, Baltimore; and they conduct Mount St. Joseph's 
College, near Catonsville; St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, near 
Catonsville; St. James' Home for Boys, in Baltimore; and are engaged 
as teachers in many parochial schools. The Capuchins have a monastery 
at Cumberland, and there are also Brothers of Mary and members of the 
Benedictine and other orders engaged in pastoral work in the diocese. 

The Catholic sisterhoods within the State are very numerous, but it 
is impossible to obtain any definite statistics regarding their numbers. 
The greater part of them are engaged in teaching or in the care of the 
sick. The best known orders are those of the Sisters of Notre Dame and 
the Sisters of Charity. The former are occupied almost entirely with 
the instruction of the young, the latter with the conduct of hospitals and 
asylums. The mother-houses of both lie within the bounds of the 
State, the former at Govanstown, the latter at Emmitsburg. In the 
former there are the following inmates : Professed religious, 38 ; novices, 
21; postulants, 16; sisters, 60; boarders, 130; day pupils, 30. The 
Sisterhood has smaller convents in eight of the parishes of Baltimore, 
and occupies itself with conducting the schools of the parish. Sisters 
of Notre Dame are also engaged in five other parochial schools of Balti- 
more, and superintend an orphan asylum there. They have a convent 
and academy at Annapolis, another at Hagerstown, and a mission house 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 405 

at Towson. The Sisters of Charity have 200 professed sisters, 50 novices, 
and 100 pupils at their mother-house at Emmitsburg. They have 
charge of an orphan asylum and a house of industry in Baltimore ; an 
orphan asylum near Melvale, Baltimore county ; a hospital and retreat 
for the insane at Mount Hope, and a hospital near Catonsville. They 
also conduct an academy and school at Emmitsburg ; an academy at 
Leonardstown, and five parochial schools in Baltimore. The Sisters of 
Mercy have a convent at Mount Washington and another in Baltimore. 
They have charge of the City Hospital, a home for working girls, and four 
parochial schools in Baltimore, and an academy at Cumberland. There 
are Convents of the Visitation, with female academies attached, at 
Baltimore, at Frederick, and at Mount de Sales, near Catonsville. The 
Franciscans have houses on Maryland avenue and St. Paul street, in 
Baltimore, and at Highland Park, from which they carry on mission 
work and schools among the colored people. The Oblate Sisters of 
Providence is the name of an order of colored sisters working in 
Baltimore among their own race. There are also convents, schools and 
asylums in Maryland managed by the following sisterhoods : Benedictines, 
Carmelites, Ursulines, Little Sisters of the Poor, Sisters of St. Joseph, of 
the Good Shepherd and of the Holy Cross. The Sisters of Bon Secours 
founded a convent in Baltimore in 1881, from which they go out to nurse 
in the homes of the sick without regard to denomination or color. 

The Protestant communities within the State are few in number. 
The largest Episcopalian Order is the Sisterhood of All Saints, Mt. Calvary 
parish of Baltimore. The sisterhood was originally started as a branch 
of an English Order, but is now entirely independent of foreign control. 
Bishop Paret, of the Diocese of Maryland, is the official visitor of the 
Order, which includes eighteen or twenty Sisters living in two houses, 
and carrying on parish work among both white and colored. The white 
Sisters conduct a training home for girls and a sewing school ; the 
colored Sisters a home for colored boys, a day school and a fresh-air 
fund. The parish work of St. John's Parish, Waverley, including an 
Orphanage and a Parochial School, is also managed by an Episcopal 
Sisterhood under the direction of the rector. The Episcopalians have a 
Brotherhood called the Order of the Holy Cross, whose headquarters are 
at Westminster. During the summer they give instruction in theology 
and parochial administration to a number of young clergy. They also 
hold themselves ready to obey a request for mission work in any diocese 
in this country. The Methodist Episcopal Church opened in 1892 a 
Deaconesses' Home in Baltimore. It is supported by the Woman's Home 
Missionary Society, and its inmates are engaged in nursing, visiting and 
teaching. A movement has recently been started among the members 



406 



MARYLAND. 



of the Baltimore Conference to enlarge and greatly extend the scope 
of the work in Maryland. 



RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS. 

Probably the most remarkable development in the recent history of 
American churches has been what may be called, for want of a better 
term, the specialization of religion. By this is implied an adaptation of 
the methods and means of the churches to meet the socio-religious demands 
of particular classes, by the formation of special associations, religious 
in purpose, national or international in extent, and denominational or 
undenominational in character. This tendency has been most strongly 
marked among the young people of both sexes, and young men's and 
young women's associations or guilds are now found in nearly every city 
or congregation in this country. Maryland was one of the first States to 
enroll herself in the work, and her enlargement of the idea has kept 
pace with the development in other States. The first Young Men's 
Christian Association in Maryland was organized in Baltimore in 1853, 
and a State organization was effected in 1872. There are now nineteen 
such associations in the State, six of them being in various colleges, six 
in Baltimore city, and the rest in separate towns in Western Maryland. 
The city associations all own or occupy commodious buildings suited to 
their needs — two of them, the main building on Saratoga and Charles 
streets, and Levering Hall, the home of the Johns Hopkins Y. M. C. A. — 
being specially constructed for the needs of these branches. The follow- 
ing statistics of the Y. M. C. A. are taken from the annual report for 
1893 : 





a 


II 

■ss 

"•a 


« '3 
'of* 

■31 


o 


.2 § 


O tab 

a a 6 

lis 




6 
6 

7 


1,270 
264 
230 


1,533 

15S 
300 


2,803 
422 
530 


2,999 

700 

3,825 


S2S5,505 

20,000 

125 












19 


1,764 


1,991 


3,755 


7,524 


$305,630 



In 1890 there was organized in Baltimore a Young Men's Hebrew 
Association, similar in its purposes and aims to the Young Men's Christian 
Association. It includes about four hundred members. There is also a 
colored Young Men's Christian Association, having a rapidly increasing 
membership among the many colored churches of Baltimore. 

The Young Women's Christian Association of Baltimore was organ- 
ized in 1882, and has increased very rapidly in numbers and influence. 
The association now owns and occupies a large building in Baltimore, 
valued at $50,000. The resources of the association are supplied mainly 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 407 

by outside subscriptions, and not by the young girls themselves. A 
particular feature of the work is the use of the central building for a 
boarding-house and lunch-room for hundreds of working girls. There 
are three branches of the main association in Baltimore — Mothers' Branch, 
comprising fifty members, and occupied with the care of needy women 
in confinement ; Eastern Branch, or Helping Hand Society, with two 
hundred young girls under its care ; and a Northwestern Branch, with 
twenty-seven members. There is also a Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciation connected with the Western Maryland College at Westminster, a 
co-educational institution. 

The National Woman's Christian Temperance Union has a very 
large and active membership in the State. The centre of its activity is 
a Memorial Building in Baltimore, purchased in 1891 at a cost of over 
$30,000. In addition to the promotion of total abstinence, the organiza- 
tion also carries on much charitable and religious work. Branches are 
found in all but three of the counties. The following statistics are from 
the last annual report of the corresponding secretary : Number of branch 
unions, 168 ; juvenile unions, 86 ; active members, 3,157 ; honorary 
members, 887; juvenile members, 4,596; total membership, 8,640. 

In addition to these various non-sectarian bodies, there are likewise 
organized within the State hundreds of branches of national associations 
whose work is much more closely associated with the separate churches 
and congregations in which these branches are formed. They have no 
separate homes, or central buildings, but meet in the church buildings 
and confine their efforts to religious and charitable work within the 
congregation. The care and conduct of the weekly prayer-meeting 
usually devolve upon them, as well as the direction of many sewing- 
schools and branch missions. The separate branches are bound together 
by State and district officers, and by annual and quarterly conventions. 
The largest of these bodies within the State is the Young People's 
Society of Christian Endeavor, branches of which exist in nearly every 
county. It is non-sectarian, and includes in its ranks representatives of 
sixteen denominations, the most prominent of whom are the Methodist 
Protestants, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Baptists. In January, 1893, 
there were 192 societies within the State, of whom 68 were in Baltimore. 
The total membership was 8,884. The next largest body is the Epworth 
League, which in 1892 was taken under the patronage of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. There is no State organization, the separate unions 
being grouped together on the same territorial lines as the Annual Con- 
ferences into which Maryland is divided for administrative purposes. 
Branches are found in nearly every congregation, and the total State 
membership is estimated at 6,000 members. The Order of the King's 
Daughters and Sons is non-sectarian, and reported in January, 1893, 



408 MARYLAND. 

about 5,000 members, belonging to 142 circles, of which 105 were in 
Baltimore. The Girls' Friendly Society is under the protection of 
women of the Episcopal Church, and has for its active members girls of 
any creed, bound together for mutual help — secular and religious. There 
are about twenty-five branches in Maryland, with 300 associates and over 
1,500 active members. 

Besides these organizations there are many others of smaller numbers, 
including branches in various churches of the State. Among them are 
the Society of St. Vincent of St. Paul (Catholic); the Daughters in 
Israel (Hebrew); the Daughters of the King (Episcopalian); Young 
Catholics' Friend Society (Catholic), and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew's 
(Episcopalian). 

RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS. 

The number of religious papers issued within the State is sixteen, of 
which six are weekly, nine monthly, and one quarterly. Of the weeklies 
two are Catholic, two Methodist Episcopal, one Baptist and one Metho- 
dist Protestant. The monthlies and the quarterly include two Catholic, 
one Methodist Episcopal, one Baptist (colored), one Episcopalian, one 
Independent Methodist, two Evangelical and three Y. M. C. A. bulletins. 
All of these journals are issued at Baltimore except the organ of the 
Frederick City Y. M. C. A. 

The only denominational publishing houses in Maryland possessing 
an official character belong to two branches of the Methodist faith. The 
larger one is the Methodist Book Depository, which is located in Balti- 
more, under the direction of the Baltimore Conference of the M. E. 
Church. The other is the Central Book Concern of the Methodist 
Protestant Church, established in Baltimore in 1831, shortly after the 
formation of the Church. There are likewise publishing houses of the 
Baptist and M. E. South Churches, controlled by individuals, but possess- 
ing the endorsement of their respective Churches. 

The Maryland Bible Society was formed in May, 1833, under the 
presidency of Hon. William Wirt. During the fifty-nine years of its 
existence it has distributed 1,038,596 volumes of the Scriptures, has 
received from sales, gifts and bequests over $600,000, and has transmitted 
to the American Bible Society nearly $75,000, to be used in increasing 
the circulation of the Bible throughout the world. It employs three 
colporteurs in the city and ten in the counties, and also makes use of 
auxiliaries among the ladies of Baltimore, and in Somerset, Frederick, 
Wicomico and Allegany counties. The Maryland Tract Society was first 
organized in 1844, and now makes use of three colporteurs and over one 
hundred and fifty tract distributors. 



CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS. 409 

BELIGIOUS CAMP-MEETINGS. 

Camp-meetings were very early introduced into Maryland by mem- 
bers of the Methodist Church, and they have since been fostered mainly 
by the various branches of that denomination. The sites on which they 
are held are now usually owned by a stock company, comprising members 
of the churches who direct the meetings. Tenters frequently occupy 
the grounds during the months of July and August, but the religious 
meetings for prayer, exhortation and conversion do not occupy more than 
two weeks of that time. The largest and most important camps are : 
Emory Grove, Baltimore county, under the direction of the M. E. Church ; 
Wesley Grove, Howard county, M. E. Church South ; Summit Grove, near 
the Pennsylvania state line, M. E. Church; Deal's Island, Chesapeake bay, 
M. E. Church ; Mt. Airy, Frederick county, M. P. Church ; Glyndon Camp, 
Baltimore county, Prohibitionist ; Washington Grove, Montgomery county, 
M. E. Church, and Asbury Grove, Baltimore county, M. E. Church 
(colored). 

CEMETERIES AND BURYING- GROUNDS. 

In the several counties of the State the bodies of the dead are buried 
either in the churchyard surrounding the local church or in the scores of 
private family cemeteries to be found in every rural district. It is only 
near the larger towns and cities, and more particularly near Baltimore, that 
undenominational public cemeteries exist, under the care and direction 
of stock associations incorporated under an act of the State Legislature. 
Greenmount Cemetery, in the northern section of Baltimore, is the most 
important and most interesting of these cities of the dead. It contains 
the remains of many prominent Marylanders who have died within the 
past fifty years, among them being those of John McDonogh, Johns 
Hopkins, Junius Brutus Booth and several of his family. Other large 
cemeteries of Baltimore are Loudon Park, containing many beautiful 
monuments, and interesting because of the beauty of its landscape gar- 
dening; Mount Olivet, containing the remains of Asbury and other 
Methodist Episcopal Bishops, over whom a graceful shaft has been placed ; 
and Bonnie Brae, in which are the bones of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 
originally interred at his manor in Howard county. An interesting sur- 
vival of a rural churchyard in the midst of a large city is to be found in 
the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, in the yard of which 
are many old vaults and tombs, among them being that of Edgar Allen 
Poe. Another interesting survival is the old family burying-ground in 
Druid Hill Park, containing the remains of several generations of the 
Rogers family, the former owners of the ground now contained in the 
park. 



410 MARYLAND. 

Several military and national cemeteries are to be found within the 
State, the largest of them being on Antietam battle-field. Five thousand 
Union soldiers are buried here, fifteen hundred of them being those who 
fell in the engagement of September 17, 1862. The rest were brought from 
Monocacy, South Mountain and Harper's Ferry. The Confederate soldiers 
who fell at Antietam are buried near Hagerstown. Twenty-three hundred 
Union soldiers from the hospitals in and around Baltimore are buried in 
the national cemetery at Loudon Park, which also contains a Confederate 
burying-ground with three hundred dead in it. At Annapolis there is a 
government burying-ground containing the bodies of two thousand five 
hundred returned prisoners, who died at Camp Parole, near that city. 
Two thousand Confederates are buried at Point Lookout, where most of 
them died while prisoners of war. 



CHAPTER XIV. ^S 



EDUCATION, 






PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



The father of the public school system of Maryland was Francis 
Nicholson, Royal Governor of the Province, 1694-1698. Down to his 
time there had been no general provision for education, but under his 
influence the Assembly in 1694 passed an ,act for the maintenance of 
free schools by duties laid on exported furs, which then formed a large 
item of Maryland's trade. In 1696 King William School was founded at 
Anne Arundel Town (afterwards Annapolis), and provision was made for 
the erection of others. King William School afterwards became St. 
John's College, which still flourishes. In 1723, an act was passed looking 
to the establishment of one free school in every county. These schools 
were the only ones supported by the colony and State until well into 
this century. 

Various measures dealing with public education were enacted 
during the first half of this century, but no general and effective system 
was established until 1864, when a State Board of Education was created, 
and a Superintendent of Public Instruction appointed. Under the 
present law the schools in each county are under the control and supei'- 
vision of county school boards appointed by the Governor. The board 
of Baltimore city consists of one commissioner from each ward. The 
principal of the State Normal School is the chief executive officer of the 
whole system. The schools are supported by a State tax, supplemented 
by local taxation in each county. Appropriations are also made by the 
Legislature for the assistance of some colleges and academies which do 
not belong to the system, and the institutions so aided usually bestow 
free scholarships. 

In the year ending July 31, 1891, the period covered by the last 
report of the State Board of Education, there were in Maryland (exclusive 
of Baltimore city), 2,089 public schools, with 123,456 enrolled pupils and 
2,723 teachers. For colored children there were 450 schools. 



412 MARYLAND. 

The State Normal School for the training of teachers was established 
in 1866, and occupies a handsome building in Baltimore, on the corner of 
Lafayette and Carrollton avenues. To this each county is entitled to 
send two students for each representative in the Assembly, and a limited 
number of others are received on the payment of tuition. 

The State School for the Deaf and Dumb was founded in 1868 and 
located in Frederick City. Pupils are received between the ages of nine 
and twenty-one. Children of Marylanders receive gratuitous board and 
instruction, but those from other States pay $150 yearly. Both the sign 
language and articulation are taught, and in addition to the ordinary 
branches of education the pupils are trained in various handicrafts. 

The State School for the Blind is situated on North avenue, near 
Calvert street, Baltimore. This is not an asylum, but a school of 
instruction, and is supported in part by an appropriation which entitles 
the State to free scholarships, and in part by the income from endow- 
ments. The blind of the District of Columbia are also educated here. 
In addition to scholastic instruction a number of gainful occupations are 
taught, such as music, piano-tuning, broom-making and chair-caning. 
There is also in Baltimore a school for the colored blind and deaf, to 
which the State appropriates $7,000. Pupils are also sent here by the 
State of West Virginia and the District of Columbia. 

BALTIMORE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

The public school system of Baltimore was established in 1827 by 
an ordinance creating a Board of Commissions and investing them with 
the necessary powers. The earliest schools were elementary and con- 
ducted on the Lancasterian system, bat in process of time the course was 
enlarged and grammar schools added to the primary. In 1839 a high 
school for boys was established, followed by two for girls in 1844. The 
boys' high school was afterwards erected by legislation into the Balti- 
more City College. After the civil war, free schools were opened for 
colored children and were graded like the others. 

On January 1, 1893, there were one hundred and fifty-six day schools 
and eight night schools in Baltimore, classed as follows : The City 
College, two high schools for girls, the Manual Training School, forty 
grammar schools, sixty-three primary schools, five English-German 
schools, eighteen schools in the annexed wards (Twenty-first and Twenty- 
second), and eighteen schools for colored children. In these were 
employed 1,430 teachers. The day schools were attended by 54,406 
pupils, and the night schools by 1,413. These schools occupy 108 
buildings. The expenditure for 1892 was $1,009,444, of which $800,978 
was for salaries. 



EDUCATION. 413 

BALTIMORE CITY COLLEGE. 

This, as has been said, was formerly the boys' high school, which in 
1866 was made a college by legislative enactment, though it has never 
conferred degrees. When first opened, it received only the advanced 
pupils of the grammar schools, but afterwards was opened to all qualified 
to enter. At present it has a faculty of fifteen members and four 
hundred and fifty scholars. The standard of scholarship is high, and 
students who have completed its courses are received in the Johns 
Hopkins University without further examination. A building on Howard 
street was constructed for it in 1873 and used until 1892, when a sinking 
of the bed of the street, caused by tunnelling, occasioned its downfall. 
The college now occupies temporary quarters on Fayette street. 

The high school for colored children is on Saratoga street, east of 
Charles. 

BALTIMORE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, FOBMEELY THE MANUAL TRAINING 

SCHOOL. 

This is the first school of its kind established in the United States as 
a part of the public school system. It is not designed to teach any special 
handicrafts, to turn out carpenters or blacksmiths, but to teach the use of 
tools and the elementary mechanical processes and arts in dealing with 
wood, the metals, etc., thus giving the eye, hand and brain a training 
which is not given in the literary courses of the schools. Its building is 
situated on Courtland street, and has room for five hundred students. 
The building contains boiler-rooms, machine shops, forges, work-rooms 
for steam engineering, pattern making, carpentery, wood carving, free- 
hand and mechanical drawing, laboratories for physics and chemistry, 
recitation-rooms, gymnasium and swimming-pool. 

MANUAL LABOR SCHOOL. 

The Baltimore Manual Labor School for indigent boys, founded in 
1845, is situated at Arbutus, in Baltimore county, on a farm of one hun- 
dred and forty acres. The scholars, who are mostly sons of indigent 
widows, are trained in farm work, and also receive a school education. 



414 MARYLAND. 

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. 
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. 

Most of the older universities in this country were developed from 
colleges, but this institution had its origin in a medical school. In 1802 
Dr. John B. Davidge, of Baltimore, opened a private medical class, which 
was so successful that in 1807, in connection with two other physicians, 
he obtained from the Assembly a charter for the College of Medicine of 
Maryland, and permission to raise $40,000 by lottery. This college 
proved so great a success that the founder conceived the idea of making 
it part of a more comprehensive scheme, and in 1812 obtained an enlarged 
charter authorizing the college to constitute and annex three other 
faculties, of Divinity, Law and Arts, which combined should constitute 
the University of Maryland. 

The faculty of divinity was never organized, that of arts was twice 
organized and twice perished, and that of law early gave up activity, to 
be revived, however, in 1869. The faculty of medicine has always been 
the largest school, having had a course of great prosperity and a 
succession of professors of distinguished ability and wide repute. In 
point of age it is the fifth medical school in the United States. 

In 1812, the University purchased from Colonel John Eager Howard, 
at a price little more than nominal, the lot on the corner of Lombard and 
Greene streets, which has ever since been its home. The first building, 
which is still in use, was erected from the designs of R. C. Long, modelled 
on the Pantheon at Rome, and was at the time the finest medical college 
building in the United States. In 1823, the Baltimore Infirmary, under 
the control of the University, was built on the opposite side of Lombard 
street, where it still stands, though much enlarged. It now contains 250 
beds, and receives annually $3,750 from the State and $6,760 from the 
city. In connection with the University are a nurses' training school 
and also the Free Lying-in Hospital on Lombard street, with from 
thirty-five to forty beds, which is also aided by the State. 

The faculty of the medical school consists of ten professors, five 
lecturers, six demonstrators and three prosectors. A three years' course 
has been adopted. 

Among the historic distinctions of this school are the introduction 
of hygiene and medical jurisprudence into the curriculum as ea,rly as 
1833, the first lectures in the United States on dentistry in 1837, the 
enforcement of dissection, first or second of American colleges, the intro- 
duction of courses of comparative physiology and microscopy, and in 
1867, the first independent chair of diseases of women and children. 

The Law School occupies a building adjoining the Medical School. 
It has seven professors and over one hundred students. The course covers 
three years. Judge H. D. Harlan is the Dean of the Faculty. 



EDUCATION. 415 

In 1882, the Dental Department was organized with Dr. F. J. S. Gorgas 
as the Dean, and it has now about two hundred students. For graduation, 
attendance upon three sessions with clinical instruction, is required. 

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY. 

Baltimore owes a large debt of gratitude to her munificent citizens. 
The names of George Peabody, Moses Sheppard, Enoch Pratt, James 
McDonogh, Thomas Wilson, Mary Elizabeth Garrett, John W. McCoy 
and others appear elsewhere in these pages, and we have now to add to 
them that of the man whose great wealth enabled him to make the most 
splendid gift the city ever received — the name of Johns Hopkins. 

This gentleman, a native of Maryland, had amassed an ample fortune 
in his long career as a successful merchant and banker, and being a 
bachelor without claims of family upon him, he conceived the idea of 
benefiting his native State and country, and perpetuating his name in two 
great foundations, a university and a hospital. He selected among his 
friends a body of trustees whose intelligence, integrity and liberal views 
eminently fitted them for the responsibility, and in 1867 the University 
was incorporated. In 1870, the Trustees met, organized and adjourned, 
not to re-assemble until after the death of the founder. Mr. Hopkins 
died in December, 1873, and by his will divided his estate, amounting to 
about seven millions of dollars, between the two institutions. The 
Trustees were informed, in a letter of instructions, of the general scope 
of the founder's plans, but were left unfettered as to the mode of carrying 
them into effect. 

In December, 1874,, Daniel C. Gilman, L.L.D., a graduate of Yale, 
and then President of the University of California, was offered and 
accepted the presidency of the new institution, an office he still holds. 
In the following year he spent some months in Europe, studying 
university organization, and maturing a system for the new foundation. 
In 1876, on February 22, a day since observed by the University in 
annual commemoration, the President was publicly inaugurated, and in 
his address intimated the scope, methods and aims of the Johns Hopkins 
University. "The object of the University," he said, "is to develop 
character, to make men. It misses its aim if it produces learned pedants, 
or simple artisans, or cunning sophists, or pretentious practitioners. Its 
purpose is not .so much to impart knowledge to the students, as to whet 
the appetite, exhibit methods, develop power, strengthen judgment, and 
invigorate the intellectual and moral forces. It should prepare for the 
service of society a class of students who will be wise, thoughtful, 
progressive guides in whatever department of work or thought they may 
be engaged." 



416 MARYLAND. 

The founder had forbidden any part of the capital of the University 
to be used in the erection of buildings, therefore the beginnings were 
necessarily on a modest scale. A plain house on Howard street was 
enlarged and fitted up, and in it the Department of Philosophy began in 
the fall of 1876. 

At the time the University was opened, there being comparatively 
little attention paid in this country to post-graduate work, it was decided 
to make this at first the leading feature of the institution, and a three 
year's graduate course was established, leading to the degree of Doctor of 
Philosophy. The undergraduate work was then organized, leading to the 
degree of Bachelor of Arts. This, as now arranged, presents for the 
student's choice, seven elective groups, equivalent in value. 

A feature of the University is the publication of journals and other 
serials on scientific subjects, published by the University itself or under 
its auspices. The following are regularly issued, beside occasional publi- 
cations, reports, &c: 

The American Journal of Mathematics. 

The American Chemical Journal. 

The American Journal of Philology. 

Studies from the Biological Laboratory. 

Studies in Historical and Political Science. 

Contributions to Assyriology. 

University Circulars. 
Another periodical, Modern Language Notes, is edited by members 
of the faculty. 

In the rear of the Front Building on Howard street, which contains 
the offices of administration, and class rooms in Ancient Languages, is 
the Library Building. This contains on the first floor Hopkins Hall, 
now used for chemical lectures; on the second floor the reading-room 
and general library, and on the third the rooms and library of the 
Department of History and Political Science. The next building to 
the west of this contains the chemical laboratories, lecture-rooms, &c, 
and still further west, on the corner of Eutaw street, is the Biological 
Laboratory. The building last constructed for purposes of instruction, 
and also the largest, is the Physical Laboratory, at the corner of Monu- 
ment and Garden streets. It is a fine structure of pressed brick, trimmed 
with sandstone and surmounted by an astronomical observatory. Other 
departments of the University, such as Mineralogy, Geology, Modern 
Languages, &c, are temporarily housed in the near vicinity, until proper 
quarters can be provided for them. 

In addition to the buildings already mentioned, there is the Gym- 
nasium at the corner of Garden and Little Ross streets, and Levering 
Hall, a handsome edifice built at the cost of $20,000 and presented to 



EDUCATION. 417 

the University by Mr. Eugene Levering, a Baltimore merchant, for the use 
of the University Young Men's Christian Association. This hall stood 
formerly at the corner of Garden street, but in the summer of 1892 it 
was moved half a block westward to Eutaw street, to make room for 
McCoy Hall. 

Mr. John W. McCoy, a retired merchant, and a liberal patron of arts 
and letters, left by will his valuable library of about 8,000 volumes 
(largely consisting of rare and costly works relating to art), to the 
University, and made it also his residuary legatee. From the funds thus 
derived the University is now constructing an imposing building to be 
called McCoy Hall. It extends from Monument to Little Ross street, 
and is intended to contain the offices of administration, the library and 
reading-room, the departments of Languages, History and Political 
Economy and a large lecture-hall. 

The faculty (1893) consists of the president, twenty-nine professors, 
and one non-resident emeritus professor, six lecturers, seven associate 
professors, nine associates and nine instructors. 

The general control of the University is vested in a board of thirteen 
trustees, of whom Mr. C. Morton Stewart is president. 

The University annually awards twenty-one fellowships, yielding 
each $500, one of which is a private endowment; twenty scholarships for 
graduate students, yielding $200 each, and a varying number of under- 
graduate scholarships. These last are given to students from Maryland. 
There are also graduate scholarships for students from Virginia and 
North Carolina. 

Two lectureships have been founded by the gifts of friends: the 
Percy Turnbull Lectureship of Poetry, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence 
Turnbull, in memory of their son, and the Levering Lectureship on 
Religious Subjects, founded by Mr. Eugene Levering. Mrs. Caroline 
Donovan, of Baltimore, has endowed a chair of English Literature. 

The increase of students has been steady, rising from eighty -nine in 
the winter of 1876, to five hundred and forty-two in the winter of 1892; 
of whom more than three-fifths are post-graduate. In the sixteen years 
of the University's existence, two thousand and eleven students have 
been enrolled, of whom eight hundred were from Maryland; two hundred 
and eighty have received the degree of Ph. D,, and three hundred and 
eighty that of A. B. 

Soon after the opening of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, in 1889, a 
movement was set on foot by ladies of Baltimore to establish a medical 
school, to which women as well as men might be admitted, and in 
pursuance of this object they raised a fund of over $100,000, which the 
Trustees accepted, with the understanding that the school should be 
founded, when the fund should be raised to $500,000. Notwithstanding 

27 



418 MARYLAND. 

the help which the University itself was able to give, more than three- 
fifths of the required sum were still lacking, when Miss Mary Elizabeth 
Garrett, of Baltimore, a lady distinguished for zeal and liberality in 
promoting the higher culture of women, generously made up the 
deficiency in December, 1892. This fund is to be kept intact and known 
as the Garrett fund. It is expected that this school will be opened in 
the fall of 1893, when a second Faculty, that of Medicine, will begin 
instruction. 

The endowment of the university comprised Mr. Hopkins' country 
seat, Clifton, a beautiful tract of 330 acres, to the northeast of the city, 
15,000 shares of the common stock of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
and other values amounting to about $750,000 more. The railroad stock 
had a par value of $100 per share, but being exempt from taxation and 
paying 10 per cent, dividends, its market value at the time was nearly 
$200, and Mr. Hopkins had expressly recommended that it should not be 
sold. But the road become involved in difficulties in 1887 and for several 
years following dividends were entirely suspended. Consequently the 
University found itself deprived of a great part of its revenue and that 
even its existence was imperilled. Generous friends, however, came to 
its assistance, and an emergency fund of $108,700 was subscribed, which 
tided it over the time of trial. The trustees effected a conversion of the 
stock in 1890, and the University was again placed on a sound financial 
basis. 

The University is already known to the whole world by its contri- 
butions to knowledge. Prof. Rowland's investigations of the solar 
spectrum, and his diffraction-gratings, Prof. Brooke's exhaustive mono- 
graph on the oyster, Prof. Remsen's researches into the causes of 
contamination of water-supplies, Prof. Williams' geological maps have 
marked important steps in the advance of science. Of works produced 
by members of the University in the principal departments of knowledge, 
not even the names can be given here. Its influence has also been widely 
extended by the number of its alumni who have become professors or 
teachers in universities, colleges and schools in nearly every State in the 
Union, as well as in Europe and Asia. Of its doctors of philosophy 87 
per cent, and of its bachelors of arts 27 per cent, have become teachers, 
the number amounting to no less than 514 in the short period of sixteen 
years. 

WASHINGTON COLLEGE. 

Though various desultory attempts had been made to establish a 
college in Maryland in colonial times, nothing was effected until 1780, 
when Dr. William Smith, ex-president of what is now the University of 
Pennsylvania, came to Chestertown, in Kent county, and opened "a 



EDUCATION. 419 

school for instruction in the higher branches of education." His attempt 
being very successful, the Legislature, two years later, granted the school 
a charter as Maryland's first college, and named it " in honorable and 
perpetual memory " of Washington. Assisted by the State, Washington 
College flourished for a number of years, after which, from the withdrawal 
of State aid and other misadventures, it had a somewhat checkered 
career. It is now, however, fairly prosperous, and has a faculty of seven 
instructors and 117 students. Since 1890 young women have been 
admitted to its courses. It is the only college on the Eastern Shore. 

st. John's college. 

As previously stated, this college is a continuation of the oldest 
public school in Maryland — King William School, founded in 1696 — and 
is situated in Annapolis, the capital. It was raised to collegiate rank in 
1784, to be for the Western Shore what Washington College was for the 
Eastern. Its first quarters were in the house built by Governor Bladen, 
in colonial times, as his "official residence, which still remains as 
McDowell Hall, so named from the first president. 

It had a prosperous career until the withdrawal of the State 
appropriation in 1805, after which it languished and for a while was 
closed. A new era, however, began for it under the presidency of the 
Rev. Hector Humphreys, who devoted himself to its rehabilitation. He 
reorganized the system of instruction, traveled in its interests, raised 
funds for two more buildings, prevailed on the Legislature to renew the 
appropriation, and worked faithfully in its behalf until his death in 1857. 

During the civil war it was closed and the buildings used as a 
hospital, but it was reopened in 1866. The present president, Thomas Fell 
LL.D., was appointed in 1887. The faculty consists of fifteen members 
and the students number 182. The grounds, upon which the college 
buildings stand, comprise twenty acres. In the College library may be 
found an interesting collection of books, the gift of King William III. to 
the school that bore his name. The college is in close and friendly 
relations with Johns Hopkins University, where its certificated students 
are received without further examination. 

MOUNT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE. 

This was founded in 1808 at Emmittsburg, Frederick county, by the 
Rev. Jean Dubois, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, who had 
emigrated from France in 1797. It was at first under the control of the 
Sulpician Order, but is now governed by the secular clergy, the Rev. 
Edward P. Allen being the president. In addition to the regular collegiate 
curriculum, there is a commercial course and a preparatory department. 
An ecclesiastical seminary preparatory to the priesthood is also main- 
tained. 



420 MARYLAND. 



NEW WINDSOR COLLEGE. 



This college, situated at New Windsor, Carroll county, was founded 
in 1843. It is under the control of the Presbyterian Church. Both sexes 
are instructed, but separately, in different courses of study. It has also 
a commercial department. 

LOYOLA COLLEGE. 

This was opened in 1852 in its present situation on Calvert street, 
Baltimore. It is under the control of the Jesuit order, and its course of 
study is similar to that of other Jesuit colleges. A commercial course is 
also given, and a preparatory school maintained. 

ROCK HILL COLLEGE. 

The Brothers of Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic fraternity, 
founded two centuries ago by Jean Baptiste de la Salle, purchased in 
1857 the Rock Hill Academy at Ellicott City, Howard county, and 
procured a college charter in 1865. Three courses of study are given : A 
classical and a scientific course, each of four years, and a commercial 
course of two years. It has a preparatory department. 

WESTERN MARYLAND COLLEGE. 

This college, under the control of the Methodist Protestant Church, 
was incorporated in 1868. It is unsectarian and receives students of any 
denomination. Both ,sexes are received, but follow different courses. 
The male and female students are separated in the chapel and dining 
hall, but meet once a month socially in the reception parlors. This 
college, though not endowed, has been especially prosperous in late 
years, and has increased the area of its grounds and added new buildings. 
The Rev. Thomas H. Lewis is president, with a faculty of eighteen 
members. The students number two hundred and fifty-eight. 

THE WOMAN'S COLLEGE OP BALTIMORE. 

The Woman's College is an institution founded by the Methodist 
Episcopal Church for the higher education of women. It was incorporated 
in 1884, and opened in 1888, but did not send forth any graduates until 
1892. 

Its buildings, of massive granite, are in the northern part of the city, 
at and near the junction of St'. Paul and Twenty-second streets. The 
main building, called Goucher Hall, in .honor of the president, the Rev. 
John F. Goucher, D.D., to whose zealous labors and lavish generosity the 
success of the whole foundation is largely due, immediately adjoins the 
First Methodist Church, which serves as the college chapel, being con- 
nected with Goucher Hall by a bridge. On the other side stands Bennett 




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EDUCATION. 421 

Hall, given by Mr. B. F. Bennett, of Baltimore, in memory of his wife, 
and used as the gymnasium — one of the most extensive in the world for 
the exclusive use of women, containing all the best modern appliances, 
as swimming-pool, &c. The physical culture department is in charge of 
a professor who is a doctor of medicine, and the Swedish system of 
training is used, the instructors being graduates of the Royal Institute 
of Stockholm. The resident students live in three handsome buildings 
erected for the purpose in the vicinity of the college, and arranged and 
fitted up with the most careful attention to health and comfort. It has 
also a preparatory department, the Girls' Latin School, with a separate 
corps of instructors. 

In 1892, there were 208 students in the preparatory school and 124 
in the College, of whom only 55 were from Baltimore. 

The funds of the Male Free School, founded in 1802, and of the 
Colvin Institute for Girls, founded in 1839, were transferred to this 
College in 1890, the public schools having superseded the older founda- 
tions ; and these funds have been applied to the creation of scholarships. 

MORGAN COLLEGE. 

This institution, situated on Fulton avenue, Baltimore, is for the 
education of colored youth. It was chartered in 1889. 

PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

In addition to the school system of State, county and city, there are 
many valuable schools in Maryland, under the control of private corpo- 
rations or supported by private liberality. Of these only a few can 
be mentioned. In St. Mary's county is Charlotte Hall, founded in 1774; 
in Frederick county, Frederick College, founded in 1763, and receiving 
its present charter in 1830 • in Montgomery, the Rockville Academy, 
chartered in 1808 ; in Allegany, the Allegany County Academy, founded 
in 1800 ; in Queen Anne's, the Centreville Academy, chartered in 1793 ; 
in Cecil, the West Nottingham Academy, beside others. 

Calvert Hall, in Baltimore city, is managed by the Brothers of 
Christian Schools, a fraternity of the Roman Catholic Church, and is the 
preparatory department of Rock Hill College, Howard county, belonging 
to the same Order. It occupies a large and handsome building at the 
corner of Cathedral and Mulberry streets. 

The McDonogh Institute and Farm School is situated on the "Western 
Maryland Railroad, 9 miles from the city. It was founded by John 
McDonogh, a wealthy merchant of Baltimore and New Orleans, who, at 
his death in 1850, left half his fortune for its establishment, thoutjh 
owing to tedious litigation, it was not opened until 1875. This school has 
been organized and carried out in strict accordance with the instructions 



422 MARYLAND. 

of its founder. On a farm of 835 acres, 110 boys live in one great family. 
They perform all the lighter farm work, and receive manual training in 
machine and carpenter shops. Literary studies are not neglected, and 
graduates of the school are prepared to enter college. The boys edit 
and print a paper of their own called "The Week." This institution has 
been fortunate in its excellent superintendents, and admission to it is 
much sought after. 

The Oliver Hibernian Free School, on North street, Baltimore, was 
founded by a bequest of John Oliver, a Baltimore merchant, in 1823, as a 
free school for poor children of Irish parentage. 

The Jacob Tome Institute of Port Deposit, Cecil county, was endowed 
in 1889 by Mr. Tome with $2,500,000, but has not yet been opened. It is 
intended for the free education of white children from ten to eighteen 
years of age. 

For the education of girls and young women many excellent institu- 
tions are provided in the city and State. Among them are the Frederick 
Female Seminary, in Frederick county, founded in 1841, which has just 
passed under the control of the Reformed Church in the United 
States; the Hannah More Academy, at Reisterstown, in Baltimore 
county, founded in 1838, under the control of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, and the Lutherville Seminary, at Lutherville, in Baltimore county, 
founded in 1853, under the control of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 

The Bryn Mawr School, preparatory to Bryn Mawr College, was 
founded in 1889, largely through the liberality of Miss Mary Elizabeth 
Garrett, whose philanthropy has already been mentioned in these 
pages. It occupies a fine and substantial building at the corner of Pres- 
ton and Cathedral streets, and is fitted up with the best modern appliances 
for instruction and exercise. 

Under the control of the Roman Catholic Church are the Academies 
of Notre Dame, St. Agnes, and Mount de Sales, in Baltimore county; St. 
Joseph's Seminary at Emmittsburg, Frederick county, and the Academy 
of the Visitation, in Baltimore. 

Beside those mentioned, there are many excellent private schools in 
the city and the counties, so that, population and wealth being considered, 
Maryland enjoys facilities for education not inferior to those of any of 
her sister States. 

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. 
ST. MAEY'S SEMINAKY OF ST. SULPICE. 

When the revolution in France threatened the destruction of all the 
religious orders, the Rev. Andre Emery, Superior General of the Society 
of St. Sulpice, thought of seeking an asylum for his society in America. 
After a conference in England with the Rev. John Carroll, first Roman 



EDUCATION. 423 

Catholic Bishop in the United States, he determined to found a new 
home for the Sulpicians in Maryland, and in 1791 four priests and five 
seminarians embarked. In July of that year, they began their labors, 
having bought for the sum of £850, Maryland currency, a lot of four 
acres in Baltimore, being the site which their seminary now occupies 
at the corner of St. Mary and Paca streets. 

The Sulpician Society aims almost exclusively at training candidates 
for the priesthood, but as few such presented themselves at first, the faculty 
enlarged the sphere of their activity, so as to include secular education, 
and in 1797 founded St. Mary's College, which was raised to the rank of 
a university by the legislature. The reputation of this college long stood 
deservedly high, and many of the leading men of Maryland, in the first 
half of the century, received their education in its halls. 

But the society never lost sight of its original purpose, and when 
other secular colleges were founded by Sulpicians and Jesuits, the 
collegiate department was closed, and the seminary work alone continued. 
As a theological school it has had a high reputation, and its success 
necessitated the erection of new and extensive buildings in 1878 and 1881. 

In 1828, St. Mary's College received authority from the Pope to grant 
degrees in theology and canon law. The course as now pursued embraces 
five years, two of which are devoted to philosophy and natural science, 
and three to biblical study, theology, canon law and ecclesiastical history. 
None are admitted but candidates for the priesthood, who have taken a 
collegiate course. 

The Eev. A. Magnien has been the head of the Seminary since 1878. 

Under the supervision of St. Mary's Seminary is St. Joseph's Seminary 
for the education of colored priests. 

ST. CHAKLES' COLLEGE. 

This institution owes its existence to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 
who in 1830 gave it lands and endowment. It is under the control of 
the Sulpician Order, and is attractively situated on elevated ground near 
Ellicott City, in Howard county. The college building is a handsome 
structure of granite. The Rev. F. L. Dumont, D. D., is president. 

WOODSTOCK COLLEGE. 

This college was founded by the Society of Jesus as a theological 
seminary for the education of priests. It occupies a fine situation on a 
hill overlooking the Patapsco river at Woodstock, in Howard county. 
The Rev. P. O. Racicot is president. Woodstock College has a remark- 
able and very valuable library of 62,000 volumes. 



424 MARYLAND. 

REDEMPTORIST COLLEGE. 

This institution, whose exact name is House of Studies of the Con- 
gregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Mt. St. Clement, was founded in 1867 
at Ilchester, Howard county, by the Redemptorist Congregation of the 
Roman Catholic Church, as a school to prepare members of their body 
for the priesthood. The course of study covers six years, and includes 
philosophy, natural science, biblical study, theology, canon law and 
church history. The rector is the Rev. Eugene Dumont. 

WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 

This seminary is designed to educate young men for the ministry of 
the Methodist Protestant Church. It occupies a building on the grounds 
of the Western Maryland College, Westminster, and is closely connected 
with that institution, though it has a separate legal existence. The Rev. 
J. T. Ward, D.D., is the president. 

THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES FOR COLORED MEN. 

Several seminaries have been established to prepare colored men for 
the ministry of the Gospel, among which are the Theological Department 
of Morgan College, in Baltimore, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and Epiphany Apostolic College and St. Joseph's Seminary, also 
in Baltimore, belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. 

MEDICAL COLLEGES. 
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. 

The medical faculty of this, the oldest school of medicine in the 
State, has already been spoken of under the head of universities. 

MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL FACULTY OF MARYLAND. 

In 1799 the Legislature incorporated this venerable body for the 
purpose of "promoting and disseminating medical and chirurgical 
knowledge throughout the State, and preventing the citizens thereof 
from risking their lives in the hands of ignorant practitioners or pre- 
tenders to the healing art." It was rather an examining than a teaching 
body, and was invested with power to give certificates to competent 
practitioners, which certification was made obligatory. This provision 
afterwards fell into disuse, and no examination of physicians was made 
until the passage of the act of 1892. The membership comprises some 
of the most distinguished physicians of the State. It holds semi-annual 
meetings at its rooms at the corner of St. Paul and Saratoga streets, 
Baltimore, where it has a valuable library. An annual volume of trans- 
actions is published. 



EDUCATION. 425 

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIAN'S AND SURGEONS. 

This medical school was incorporated in 1872 by a number of 
physicians who had been members of the faculty of Washington 
University, which was finally absorbed by the younger institution. It 
now has charge of the new City Hospital at the corner of Calvert and 
Saratoga streets, which contains three hundred beds, and is managed by 
the Sisters of Mercy. Connected with the hospital is a dispensary, and a 
building for the reception of colored patients. It also controls the 
Maryland Lying-in Asylum. The city aids the dispensary with a yearly 
appropriation, and pays an annual sum for beds in the hospital. The 
State also gives assistance to the College, which has a faculty of ten 
members, and gives a three years' course of study. 

BALTIMORE MEDICAL COLLEGE. 

This, the third Baltimore medical school in point of age, was 
organized in 1881. Its earlier growth was slow, but after certain changes 
were effected in its organization, and the removal to a new site, it 
prospered. In 1892, it erected a handsome building on the corner of 
Madison street and Linden avenue. It has a faculty of eleven professors 
and nine assistants. It controls the Maryland General Hospital con- 
nected with its buildings, which receives assistance from both State and 
city. The city gives also an annual sum to its dispensary. 

BALTIMORE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE. 

This was founded in 1884, and is situated on Bond street, East 
Baltimore. Its charter endows it with full University powers, and it has 
lately added dental, veterinary and law departments to the original 
medical school. In 1891 it numbered one hundred and twenty-four 
students. Its dispensary and hospital receive an annual sum from the 
city. 

SOUTHERN HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGE. 

This was opened in 1890, and occupies a building on Saratoga street, 
near Charles. It controls the Maryland Homoeopathic Free Dispensary 
and Hospital on North Paca street. 

WOMAN'S MEDICAL COLLEGE. 

In 1882, was organized the first school in Baltimore which provided 
medical education for women. It is situated at the corner of Hoffman 
and McCulloh streets. Its course is as thorough as those given in the 
other colleges. The faculty numbers twelve professors. It controls the 
Hospital of the Good Samaritan, on Hoffman street, and receives aid from 
both State and city for its hospital and dispensary. 



426 MARYLAND. . 

MARYLAND COLLEGE OF PHARMACY. 

This was incorporated in 1841, but did not succeed until reorganized 
in 1856, since which time it has steadily grown in attendance and reputa- 
tion. In 1886, it erected its present building at the corner of Fayette 
and Aisquith streets. It gives a two years' course, leading to the degree 
of Graduate in Pharmacy. The college is conducted by an association 
of pharmacists, of whom Dr. E. Eareckson is president. 

BALTIMORE COLLEGE OF DENTAL SURGERY. 

This was chartered in 1839, and is the oldest dental college in the 
world. It is located at the corner of Franklin and Eutaw streets, where 
it has well-appointed lecture-rooms, laboratories, and inflrmary. The 
course extends over two years, and covers the whole field of operative 
and mechanical dentistry with the cognate studies. E. B. Winder, M.D., 
is the president. 

OTHER EDUCATIONAL AND LITERARY INSTITUTIONS. 
THE PEABODY INSTITUTE. 

This institution, of which Baltimore is justly proud, is due to the 
munificence of Mr. George Peabody, who in the earlier part of his life 
had been a citizen of Baltimore, where he laid the foundation of his large 
fortune. In 1857, after he had long been a citizen of London, he had 
matured the plan of an institution which should advance the culture of 
a city toward which he felt a filial affection. His design was embodied 
in a letter addressed to twenty-five gentlemen whom he had selected as 
trustees, in which he announced an endowment of $300,000 as the first 
instalment of his gift, which he afterward increased to $1,240,000. The 
plan included a free public library, a conservatory of music, a gallery of 
fine art, provision for public lectures, and a system of premiums to the 
high schools of the city. 

The site selected is one of the finest in the city, on the hill at the 
intersection of Charles and Monument streets, at the foot of the Wash- 
ington Monument. The building was begun in 1858, and the west wing 
was finished in 1861 and the library begun. The institute was formally 
opened in 1866 in the presence of the founder. John G. Morris, D.D., was 
the first librarian. On his resignation, N. H. Morison, LL.D., was appointed 
executive head of the institute with the title of Provost, which office he 
held until his death in 1890, when he was succeeded by P. P. Uhler, 
the present Provost. The building has been completed by the addition 
of the central portico and east wing, and has now a front of one hundred 
and seventy-five feet. It is built of white marble, and the style is Italian 
Kenaissance, of tasteful design. 



EDUCATION. 427 

The institute has three halls for public lectures, concerts, etc., a 
gallery of art and a conservatory of music. The library occupies the 
entire east wing and contains 116,000 volumes, with space for 500,000- 
The library is for reference and consultation, and is of remarkable excel- 
lence, every department of knowledge and letters being well represented. 
Admission is free to all. The art gallery contains a choice collection of 
paintings, largely the gift of the late Mr. John W. McCoy, who also 
enriched the collection with works from the chisel of Einehart, the 
sculptor, whose genius Mr. McCoy recognized and assisted, and to whom 
he was ever a warm and generous friend. Chief among these works is 
the exquisite ideal statue of Clytie, the artist's masterpiece. The gallery 
will be further enriched by a valuable collection of paintings, miniatures, 
medallions, bronzes and statuary, received from the estate of the late 
Mr. Charles J. M. Eaton, of Baltimore. There is also a gallery of casts from 
the antique and other more modern great works, presented by the late 
Mr. John W. Garrett. The conservatory of music occupies a large part 
of the west wing, and is under the direction of Mr. Asgar Hamerik, K JD. 
Advanced instruction in all branches of music is given by a corps of 
professors, and diplomas are conferred. In connection with this depart- 
ment, musical recitals, students' concerts, and symphony concerts are given. 

A course of thirty lectures is given during the fall and winter by 
lecturers of distinction, at a price of admission little more than nominal. 

The Institute also gives yearly medals r.nd premiums to the most 
meritorious graduates of the Maryland Institute and of the city high 
schools, so that its beneficent influences are felt in many ways. 

MARYLAND INSTITUTE FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE MECHANIC ARTS. 

This institution was founded in 1826, but after an existence of nine 
years its building was destroyed by fire, and its activity ceased. It was 
revived in 1848, in which year a night school was opened, to which a 
day school was added in 1854. Its building is on East Baltimore street, 
the lower story being an open arcade, forming the continuation of the 
Centre Market. 

In the day school is given a four years' course in drawing, painting 
and modeling. The night school has three divisions, comprising free- 
hand, mechanical and architectural drawing. A commercial school also 
is open for six months in the year. . 

Thirty-five scholarships are offered to residents of Baltimore and 
twenty-three to students from other parts of the State. During its exist- 
ence it has enrolled over 17,000 students. The attendance in the winter 
of 1892-93 was 1,021, of whom 715 were in the night, 222 in the day and 
84 in the commercial schools. It has a reading-room and library of 
20,000 volumes. The State and city each appropriate $6,000 annually to 



428 MARYLAND. 

its support. The will of George Peabody endowed it with a fund for the 
annual distribution of prizes to the value of $500. The president is Mr. 
Joseph M. Cushing. 

MARYLAND AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 

This college, chartered in 1856, was the first in the country to 
recognize agricultural experimentation as an important part of its opera- 
tions ; it is the second agricultural college and third agricultural school 
opened in the United States, and the only one founded by voluntary 
subscription. It is situated in Prince George's county, eight miles from 
Washington city. 

In 1862, the Federal government began to make appropriations for 
agricultural colleges, of which this institution receives a share; and 
when, in 1887, Congress passed an act for establishing agricultural 
experiment stations, Maryland's station was organized in connection with 
this college. It has also received aid from the State. The course of 
study includes agriculture, horticulture, history, natural history, English, 
mathematics and political economy, with optional courses in languages. 
Tuition and lodging are free. Military drill is given to the students, who 
are organized into a battalion. 

MARYLAND ACADEMY OP SCIENCES. 

This association, organized in 1863, devoted itself especially to the 
illustration of the flora, fauna, geology and mineralogy of the State. Its 
collections were very valuable, but for lack of support it fell into a 
languishing state, and transferred its specimens to the museum of Johns 
Hopkins University. Within the past year Mr. Enoch Pratt has 
presented to the association a commodious building at the corner of 
Franklin and Cathedral streets, and it will now carry on its instructive 
and valuable work under more fortunate auspices. 

MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

The object of this society, which was organized in 1844, is the 
collecting and preserving materials relating to the history of the State, 
and by publications, addresses, &c, quickening interest in historical 
studies. Its collection of manuscripts and rare publications illustrating 
the early history of the colony and State, and of other historical relics, is of 
singular interest and value. It has a very valuable library of about 30,000 
volumes, particularly rich in Americana. 

The Legislature has appointed this society the custodian of the 
ancient archives of the State, from the earliest colonial period down to 
the peace with Great Britain in 1783, and for several years has made an 
appropriation for their publication, eleven quarto volumes having already 



EDUCATION. 429 

appeared. The society has also a publication fund left it by the late 
George Peabody, from the income of which it has published thirty-two 
historical and biographical monographs. It owns and occupies the 
Athenaeum Building at the corner of St. Paul and Saratoga streets, in the 
upper story of which is the gallery of paintings and portraits, which is 
open to the public without charge, as are also the other rooms of the 
society. The president is the Hon. S. Teackle Wallis. 

THE ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY. 

This library owes its existence to the bounty of Mr. Enoch Pratt, a 
native of Massachusetts, but a resident of Baltimore since 1831, and one 
of its most prosperous merchants. In 1882 Mr. Pratt laid his plans for a 
free public library before the Mayor and City Council, and carried them 
out by the erection, at a cost of $250,000, of a handsome building for the 
main library on Mulberry street, near Cathedral, and of four branch 
libraries in other parts of the city at a cost of $50,000. In pursuance of 
his design, Mr. Pratt gave the city the sum of $833,333, on condition of 
the city's creating, in favor of the library, a perpetual annuity of $50,000, 
payable to a co-optative Board of Trustees, selected in the first instance 
by the donor. 

The central building is of white marble, in a bold Romanesque style 
embellished with handsome sculpture and mouldings, and has a front of 
eighty-two feet with a depth of one hundred and forty-two. The books 
are housed in the lower story, and delivered by attendants as called for 
at the office. The second story contains the reading room, librarian's 
room, &c. 

This building was turned over to the Trustees in 1884. The 
library, organized under the direction of Lewis H. Steiner, M. D. 
librarian, was opened to the public in January 1886. Dr. Steiner 
died in 1892, and was succeeded by his son, Bernard C. Steiner, Ph. D. 
the present librarian. 

During 1892 the circulation was 452,733 volumes, and on July 1 
1893, there were 82,265 volumes on the shelves of the central library 
and 47,007 on those of the five branches, a fifth branch having been 
added in 1888. Any resident of the city above the age of fourteen may 
draw books after having been registered, and having furnished a guar- 
antor, and sojourners have the privilege of drawing books on condition 
of a small cautionary deposit. 

THE NEW MERCANTILE LIBRARY. 

The old Mercantile Library, founded in 1839, having fallen into 
difficulties after a long career of usefulness, was closed in 1886, and the 
books purchased by an association of gentlemen who determined to put 



430 MARYLAND. 

it on a better footing and reawaken public interest in it. The rooms 
were newly furnished and decorated, and the shelves supplied with new 
and attractive books. The fears of many that a free circulating library 
would make a subscription library impossible were not realized, and 
it was soon placed on a sound basis. It now contains over 20,000 
volumes, and circulates 60,000 yearly. It is situated on Charles street, 
near Saratoga, and its pleasant reading-room, supplied with the best 
periodicals, is a favorite resort of ladies. 

OTHER LIBRARIES. 

The Whittingham Memorial Library, containing about 20,000 volumes, 
left by the late Bishop Whittingham to the Maryland Diocese of the 
Protestant Episcopal Church and preserved at the Episcopal residence 
on Madison avenue, is a valuable collection, especially of theological 
works. The Bar Library, maintained by the members of the Baltimore 
bar, contains over 10,000 volumes. It is preserved in the upper floor of 
the Equitable building. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows have in 
their hall about 22,000 volumes, accessible to members of the Order. 

The City Library, at the City Hall, contains nearly 12,000 bound 
volumes, besides the municipal reports, pamphlets, &c. 

It is safe to say that within a circle of a half-mile radius in Balti- 
more there are half a million of books, to which students or investi- 
gators can have access and which cover every department of human 
thought. 

Outside of Baltimore the principal library not attached to a religious 
or educational institution is the State Library at Annapolis. 

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 

This, though primarily a religious body, has also educational features, 
and classes in German, mathematics, book-keeping and other subjects are 
conducted at its central building, on the corner of Charles and Saratoga 
streets, and at its five branches. It has gymnasia and grounds for open-air 
athletics. Lectures and instructive entertainments are also given. 

THE YOUNG MEN'S HEBREW ASSOCIATION 

was organized in 1890. Its rooms on Eutaw street are provided with a 
gymnasium, reading-rooms, &c, and it is proposed to organize educational 
classes. Lectures are given in the winter. 

THE CHARCOAL CLUB 

was founded by a company of artists and lovers of art for the promotion 
of art in Baltimore and for social purposes. In their rooms, at the corner 
of Howard and Franklin streets, both day and night classes in drawing, 
&c, are conducted, and exhibitions are given. 



EDUCATION. 431 



WALTERS ART GALLERY. 



This, probably the choicest art collection in the United States, is the 
property of William T. Walters, Esq., of Baltimore, and is contained in 
his house on Mount Vernon Place. It consists of a gallery of paintings 
by modern masters, a collection of rare oriental porcelains, ivories, and 
lacquers from China and Japan, a collection of bronzes by Barye, old 
carved furniture, and other objects of art. 

The paintings, which have been selected by Mr. Walters with the 
most refined taste, and many of which have been executed for him, 
represent the most characteristic work of the masters of the French, 
German, English and American schools. 

The oriental collection comprises porcelains and potteries of the 
rarest and most beautiful designs, of all ages, illustrating the history 
of the art for centuries ; exquisite works in metal, quaint and delicate 
carvings in ivory and wood, &c. Thousands of precious and curious objects 
are arranged in the various rooms. 

Though a strictly private gallery, Mr. Walters opens it to the public 
on certain days in February, March and April, for a small admission fee, 
the proceeds being given to a public charity. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE POPULATION OF MARYLAND. 






For the first one hundred and fifty-six years after the landing of the 
pilgrims from the Ark and the Dove, there are no trustworthy statistics 
of the population of Maryland. Vague guesses as to the number of 
inhabitants were occasionally made, and in the latter part of the 
colonial period, and during the interval between the Declaration 
of Independence and the adoption of the Federal Constitution, several 
more or less careful official estimates of population were put forth. 

In the following table some of these guesses and estimates are 
reproduced, while for purposes of comparison the population in 1790, as 
returned by the first Federal Census, is also given : 



Date of 
Estimate. 


a 
.2 
Is 
a 
p 


a 


o 

OOco 
P a 

Sg 


III 


Date of 
Estimate. 


1 
a 
a 
o 
Ph 


1 


o 
&)§ 

a O 


5 ^ 
111 


1634 

1660 

1671 

1701 

1715 

174S 


200 
12,000 
20,000 
25,000 
30,000 
130,000 








1756 

1760 

1770 

1775 

1783 

1790 


154,188 
166,523 
199,827 
225,000 
254,050 
319,728 


24,188 
12,335 
33,304 
35,173 
29,050 
65,678 


18.60 
8.00 
20.00 
12.60 
12.91 
25.85 


8 


11,800 
8,000 
5,000 
5,000 
100,000 


5900.00 
66.67 
25.00 
20.00 
333.33 


26 
11 
30 
14 
33 


4 
10 

5 
7 
8 



While it would be very unsafe to base any nice calculations upon 
data the accuracy of which is as uncertain as is that of most of the above 
figures, it would seem that the general belief at the time was, that in the 
almost half century between 1671 and 1715 the increase of population 
was slow, while subsequent to 1715 it was relatively rapid. For the last 
century the eleven censuses of the United States thus far taken supply 
us with definite and reasonably accurate figures for a study of the 
absolute gain in population and for a comparison of rates of increase in 
this and in the other older States. In all such comparisons, however, 
the small area of Maryland must be kept constantly in mind. 

In point of territorial extent the original thirteen States divide 
themselves into two classes. The six States of New York, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia are relatively large, the smallest of 
them covering an area more than three times as extensive as that of the 
largest of the other seven. Maryland, with aland surface of 9,860 square 
miles, stands at the head of the seven small States of Maryland, New 



THE POPULATION OP MARYLAND. 



433 



Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode 
Island. Ever since the Union was formed, Maryland has been one of the 
more densely peopled members of the sisterhood. In 1790, when the 
first census was taken, with 32 inhabitants to the square mile, only 
Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts surpassed it in the average 
density of settlement. In 1890 the eleventh decennial enumeration 
showed that it had 105 inhabitants for every square mile of its land 
surface, and in this respect it was outranked by Rhode Island, Massa- 
chusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania alone. 

The area of the State having of course remained the same, it is 
obvious that the aggregate population has in the course of the century 
been multiplied more than three-fold. Both absolutely and relatively 
the increase of population has been much more rapid during the latter 
than during the former half of the century. Until subsequently to 1840, 
when the great flood of immigrants began to pour into this country, the 
population of most of the smaller, and, in 1790, more densely populated 
States increased but slowly. In the fifty years from 1790 to 1840 the popu- 
lation of Maryland rose from 319,728 to 470,019, a gain of only 150,291, or 
at the rate of but 47.00 per cent. On the other hand, so soon as the Irish 
famine, the political troubles in Germany, and other causes gave impetus 
to the movement from Europe to America, which has ever since been 
going on, the population began to multiply with great rapidity, and in 
1890 the State contained 1,042,390 souls, an increase in the half century 
since 1840 /of no less than 572,371, or at a rate, 121.77 per cent., more than 
two and a-'half times as great as in the preceding fifty years. 

In the table below will be found the population of the State accord- 
ing to each Federal Census, the increase and the percentage of increase 
during each decade, the increase and the percentage of increase since 
1790, the number of inhabitants to the square mile at the date of each 
census and the increase in each decade in the number of inhabitants to 
the square mile. 



Date of Census. 



1790 

1800 

1810 

18530 

1830 

1840 

1850 

1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

38 



310,728 
341,548 
380,546 
407,350 
447,040 
470,019 
583,034 
687,049 
780,894 
934,943 
1,043,390 



Q'i 



21.830 
38,998 
26,804 
39,690 
22,979 
113,015 
104,015 
93,845 
154,049 
107,447 






11.4 
7.0 
9.7 
5.1 
24.0 
17.8 
13.7 
19.7 
11.5 



6.8 
19.0 
27.4 
39.8 
47.0 
83.3 
114.9 
144.2 
193.4 
326.00 



.a a 



32.4 
34.6 
38.6 
41.3 
45.3 

59!l 
69.6 
79.1 

94.8 
105.7 






3.2 
4.0 
3.7 
4.0 
3.4 
11.4 
10.5 
9.5 
15.7 
10.9 



434 



MARYLAND. 



In Maryland, as in most other portions of the civilized world, the 
urban population is and has been increasing very much more rapidly 
than the rural. In 1790 only one Marylander in twenty-three resided in 
the limits of what was then officially styled Baltimore Town, while in 
1890 the City of Baltimore contained more than two-fifths of the popula- 
tion of the entire State. Of the aggregate increase of 722,000 in the 
population of Maryland during the century, more than four-sevenths is 
to he credited to Baltimore City alone. The way in which, in common 
speech, Maryland is divided into "The City," by which Baltimore is, of 
course, meant, and " The Counties," in which are comprised all of the 
State outside of Baltimore, is in itself a striking evidence of the large 
place Baltimore necessarily occupies in any study of Maryland. 



THE COUNTIES AND BALTIMORE CITY. 

In the following table will be found the population of "The City" 
and "The Counties" according to each Federal Census, the increase and 
the percentage of increase in the population of each during each decade, 
and the total increase and the percentage of increase in each since 
1790. 



Date of 

Census. 


Population. 


Percentage 
of total pop- 
ulation of 
State resid- 
ing in 


Increase in 
decade. 


Percentage 
of increase 
in decade. 


Increase since 
1790. 


Percentage of 

increase since 

1790. 




Balti- 
more 
City. 


The 

Coun- 
ties. 


City. 


Coun- 
ties. 


City. 


Coun- 
ties. 


City. 


Coun- 
ties. 


City. 


Conn- 
ties. 


City. 


Coun- 
ties. 


1790 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1840 

1850 

1860 

1870 

1880 

1890 


13,503 
26,614 
46,555 
62,738 
80,625 
102,313 
160,054 
212,418 
267,354 
332,313 
434,439 


306,225 
314,934 
333,091 
344,612 
360,415 
367,706 
413,980 
474,631 
513,540 
602,030 
607,951 




















7.79 
12.23 
15.40 
18.04 

21.77 
29.00 
30.02 
34.24 
35.54 
41.68 


92.21 
87.77 
84.60 
81.96 
78.23 
71.00 
69.08 
65.76 
64.46 
58.32 


13,111 
10,941 
16,183 
17,887 
21,688 
66,741 
43,364 
54,936 
64,959 
102,126 


8,709 
19,057 
10,621 
21,803 

1,291 
46,274 
60,651 
38,909 
89,0011 

5,321 


97.09 
74.93 
34.76 
28.51 
26.91) 
65.23 
25.65 
25. SO 
24.30 
30.73 


2.84 
6.05 
3.18 
6.33 
.35 
12.58 
14.05 
8.20 
17.35 
.88 


13,111 
33,052 
49,235 
67,122 
8S,8I0 
155,551 
198,915 
253,851 
318,810 
420,936 


S,709 
27,766 
38,387 
60,190 
61,481 
107,755 
168,406 
207,315 
296,405 
301,723 


97.09 
244.78 
364.62 
497.09 
657.71 
1151.97 
1473.12 
1870.06 
2361.03 
3117.35 


2.84 
9.07 
12.54 
L9.65 
20.08 
35.19 
54.99 
67.70 
96.76 
98.53 



In comparing 1790 with 1890 it is unnecessary to take into account 
the fact that within the century there have been various extensions 
of the city limits, for the number of inhabitants, who, at the earlier 
date, resided in the territory, which was not then, but is now, within 
the corporate boundaries, must have been both relatively and absolutely 
small, but in contrasting one census with another immediately succeeding 
or preceding it, the fact that the lines separating the municipality from 
the surrounding country have been changed in the intervening decade, 
may, of course, seriously affect the apparent relative rates of growth in 



THE POPULATION OF MAKYLAND. 435 

population between the two federal enumerations of " The City " and of 
" The Counties." 

Thus in 1888 there was annexed to the city a territory which in 1880 
contained, probably, 25,000 inhabitants. Treating this territory for pur- 
poses of comparison, as having been part of the city in 1880, as it was in 
1890, the total increase in the population of "The Counties" in the 
decade was 30,321, or nearly five per cent., while the increase in the city 
was 77,126, or more than twenty-three per cent.; a great difference, but 
still a much less extensive one than the above table would indicate. On 
the other hand, in the twenty years between 1860 and 1880, during which 
the population of this surrounding " Belt " of Baltimore was rapidly 
multiplying as part of the city's growth, the increase went to the credit 
of " The Counties," although it really belonged to " The City." 

Probably many, if not most well informed people, familiar as they 
are with the generally depressed state of agricultural industry of late 
years, will be surprised to learn that, as the table shows, the growth of 
rural Maryland in population has been much more rapid during the later 
than during the earlier half of the 'century which has elapsed since the 
first census was taken. In the fifty years between 1790 and 1840, Mary- 
land, outside of Baltimore City, added but twenty per cent, to its 
population, while since 1840 the increase has been more than three times 
as rapid, or at the rate of more than sixty-five per cent. 

Compared with the counties the City of Baltimore is still quite a 
youth; and, as a not uncommon result of its having been relatively 
small when the basis of representation was first established in the new 
State, it has still a very much feebler voice in the General Assembly of 
the Commonwealth than its numbers, to say nothing of its wealth, 
would seem to entitle it, for while it now contains, as above set forth, no 
less than 41.68 per cent, of the entire population of the State, it elects 
less than eighteen per cent, of the membership of the State Legislature. 

THE EASTERN AND THE WESTERN SHORES. 

The two great geographical divisions of the State are the Eastern 
and Western Shores. In colouial days, and for many years following the 
Declaration of Independence, this division was recognized for many 
administrative and political purposes, and down to the present day 
one United States Senator is always chosen from among the residents of 
the Eastern and the other from among those of the Western Shore. 



436 



MARYLAND. 



Leaving out Baltimore City altogether, the following table will show 
the relative growth of the counties of the Eastern and of the Western 
Shores : 



Date of Census. 



Population. 



S 



Increase during 
decade. 



W 



Percentage of 

increase during 

decade. 



Increase since 
1790. 



Percentage of 

increase since 

1790. 



1790 
1800 
1810 
1820 
1830 
1840 
1850 
1860 
1870 
18S0 



200,552 
210,870 
2:22.1 Hi:; 
240,043 

250,375 

285,470 
329.503 
350,280 
423.490 
423,654 



107.039 

108,382 
117,121 
121,709 
119,472 
117,331 
128,504 
145,128 
157,254 
179,134 
184,097 



10,318 
6,033 
24,040 
3,432 
35,101 
44,027 
26,783 
67,210 
358 



743 
8,739 

4,588 
-2,237 
*2,141 
11,173 
10,024 
12,126 
21,880 

4,963 







4.01 


.69 


5.00 


8.06 ■ 


2.78 


3.92 


10.79 


«1.84 


1.39 


*1.79 ; 


14.02 


9.53 


15.43 


12.93 


8.13 


8.36 j 


IS. 58 


13.91 


.09 


2.77 
i 



7,966 

18,284 
24,317 
4S.357 
51,789 

80,890 
130,917 
157,700 

224.090 
225.208 



743 
9,482 
14,070 
11,833 
9,692 
20,865 
37,489 
49,615 
71,415 
76,458 



4.02 
9.21 
12.25 
24.35 
26.08 
43.76 
65.93 
79.42 
113.27 
113.45 



8.81 
13.06 
10.99 



19.38 
34.82 



*Decrease. 

During the hundred years covered by the above table, it will be 
perceived that the Western Shore has grown something over one and a 
half times as fast as the Eastern. The latter, indeed, as late as 1840, 
had less than ten per cent, more people than it had had fifty years before, 
there having been between 1820 and 1840 an absolute decrease. Since the 
latter date, however, the progress of the Peninsula counties has been 
steady, and — bearing in mind that they are almost purely agricultural, 
and are among the earliest settled portions of the original thirteen 
States — fairly satisfactory. The low apparent rate of increase in the 
Western Shore during the last decade was caused by the extension in 
1888, of the limits of Baltimore city over an area of Baltimore county, 
which in that year had, as before stated, a population of about 25,000. 



NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN MARYLAND. 

On the Western Shore there is, and always has been, quite a marked 
difference between the southern counties and those which lie further north 
in the industrial and social conditions, and in the relative proportions of 
the white and colored elements of the population. While these 
regions shade into each other by more or less easy stages, still a line 
drawn along the Patapsco from its mouth, and then west and southwest 
along the northern boundaries of Howard and Montgomery counties to 
the Potomac river, will be a fairly accurate dividing line between what 
is usually called Southern Maryland and what we may for convenience 
here designate as Northern or Northern and Western Maryland. The 



THE POPULATION OP MARYLAND. 



437 



Southern counties were the earlier settled. The Northern have a little 
more than a third larger area, the land surface of Southern Maryland as 
above defined, comprising two thousand sis hundred and seventy-six 
square miles, and of Northern Maryland, exclusive of Baltimore city, 
three thousand six hundred and ninety-five square miles. As the land 
area of the nine Eastern Shore counties is three thousand four hundred 
and sixty-one square miles, the division of the Western Shore above 
suggested, separates the counties of the State into three groups of not 
very widely different extent. 

A hundred years ago there was no great difference in the number of 
inhabitants of each of these sections. The Eastern Shore then having, 
as has been before stated, 107,389 inhabitants, Southern Maryland 106,754> 
and Northern Maryland, Baltimore city always being excluded, 91,832. 
The circumstance that the section of the State having the largest superfi- 
cial area had the smallest population, was due to the fact that a large 
portion of the Western counties were still either an altogether unpeopled 
wilderness or at best were very thinly settled. 

The table below will show the comparative increase in Northern and 
Southern Maryland since 1790. 





Population. 


Increase during 
decade. 


Percentage of 

increase during 

decade. 


Increase since 
1790. 


Percentage of 

increase since 

1790. 


Date of Census. 


•a 

til 

o 


■d 

it 

a* 
o 

0Q 


-a 

a 

a 

o 


a 

03 

SB 

a^ 

o 

m 


T3 

a .3 

f | 
o 


-a 
a 

11 
o 

02 


o 


T3 

a 

II 

o 

03 


<6 

a 

M 

o 


-d 

a 

if 

|! 

o 




91,832 
106,518 
110,589 
121,575 
138,230 
147,372 
176,168 
20S.439 
235,43 1 
281,600 


106,754 
100,034 
106,281 
101,328 
108,713 
103,003 
109,308 
121,064 
120,855 
141,896 


















1800 


14,6S6 
4,071 
10,986 
16,655 
9,142 
28,796 
32,271 
26,992 
46,169 
*-2,244 


«-6,720 

6,247 
»4,953 

7,385 
«5,710 

6,305 

11,756 

*209 

21,041 

2,602 


15.99 
3.82 
9.93 
13.70 
6.61 
19.54 
18.32 
12.95 
19.61 
*.80 


•S6.29 

6.24 
«4.66 

7.29 
«5.25 

6.13 
10.76 

*.17 
17.41 

1.83 


14,686 
18,757 
29,743 
46,398 
55,540 
84,336 
116,607 
143,599 
189,768 
187,524 


*6,720 
*473 
«5,426 
1,959 
«3,751 
2,554 
14,310 
14,101 
35,142 
37,744 


15.99 
20.42 
32.39 
50.52 
60.48 
91 .84 
126.98 
156.37 
206.65 
204.20 


*6 29 


1810 


*.44 


1820 


*5.08 


1830 

1840 

1850 - 

1860 

1870 

1880 


1.83 
*3.51 

2 39 
13.40 
13.21 
32.92 


1890 


279,356 


144,498 


35.35 



"Decrease. 

A hundred years ago the Southern counties had a more numerous 
population than the Northern, and now the latter have twice as many 
inhabitants as the former. Every decade has witnessed an increase in 
the population of the Northern part of the State, the apparent decrease 
in the decade between 1880 and 1890 being due to the change in the 
boundaries of Baltimore City. 

As in other portions of the State, progress has been both relatively 
and absolutely more rapid since 1840 than before, the population having 



438 



MARYLAND. 



increased but 55,540, or at the rate of 60.48 per cent, between 1790 and 
1840, as against an increase of 131,984, or at the rate of 89.56 per cent, 
since. 

For the sixty years between 1790 and 1850 there was, practically 
speaking, no change in the number of the inhabitants of Southern 
Maryland. In one decade the census returns would indicate a slight 
increase and in the next a corresponding decrease. 

For the decrease between 1790 and 1800, the cession by Maryland of 
portions of Prince George's and Montgomery counties to provide a site 
for the Federal Capital, is at least partly responsible. Since 1850 the 
population of the Southern counties has increased about one-third, more 
than half that increase having apparently been in the decade between 
1870 and 1880. As to this seemingly abnormal increase in this particular 
decade, the Southern Maryland counties simply stand in the same 
position as almost all other sections of the country in which the negro 
population is relatively large. The changes in the census law and in its 
administration resulted in 1880, in all the so-called " black belts," in a 
much fuller and more accurate return of population than had ever been 
made before. 

It will be noted in examining the tables already given that in 
agricultural sections there are often long periods in which there is no 
substantial gain in population, and then either as a result of increased 
transportation facilities, of changes in the methods of farming, or of the 
springing up of local industries other than purely agricultural, or of 
several or all these causes combined, the region seems to take a new 
start, and for a while at least grows rapidly. 

In Northern Maryland such a change of conditions took place appar- 
ently between 1840 and 1850, following very closely upon the opening of 
railroad lines, and being contemporaneous with the rush of immigrants 
from Europe. In Southern Maryland it has been but partially made 
even yet. It is true that since 1850 there has been a material increase 
in population, but that increase has been confined entirely to the portions 
of Prince George's and Montgomery counties lying near Washington or 
along the railroad lines, and to those portions of Howard and Anne 
Arundel counties which lie within twenty or twenty-five miles of 
Baltimore city. 

ST. MARY'S, CHARLES AND CALVERT. 

The remaining counties of Southern Maryland, St. Mary's, Charles 
and Calvert, are historically and socially among the most interesting 
portions of the State. With the exception of Claiborne's trading-post on 
Kent Island, the earliest settlements in the State were made in them. 
During the days when tobacco was the great and almost the only 



THE POPULATION OF MARYLAND. 



439 



source of provincial wealth, these counties were among the richest 
and most prosperous in the entire colony. In them, too, was to be found 
a nearer approach to the plantation system of the more Southern com- 
monwealths than existed elsewhere in Maryland. 

Unfortunately for the permanence of their early prosperity, both 
along the Potomac to the south and west, and the Chesapeake to the east 
of them, navigable water extended far past them, and towns and cities 
naturally sprang up at the heads of navigation, at which places, of 
course, the land haul from the interior to the seaboard was the shortest. 
The great wagon routes, and subsequently the railroad lines from the 
West to the Atlantic ports, and from the North to the South along the 
coast, ran to and between the great shipping ports and centres of popu- 
lation; and these counties lying as they do off both the direct lines of 
travel from the West to Baltimore and Washington, and the roads running 
southwest along the coast from Boston, New York and Philadelphia have 
long suffered from their isolation and lack of facilities for transportation. 
Under such circumstances they have been almost compelled to confine 
their agricultural industry far too closely to the cultivation of their 
great staple of tobacco, with the unfortunate economic results which 
usually attend the prolonged and exclusive cultivation of one crop. The 
soil of these counties is usually good, their climate mild and healthy, 
and in most parts their scenery varied and attractive, and as they are 
specially adapted to trucking and small farming, they would readily 
support a dense population; but principally because of the lack of 
adequate means of transportation, and possibly though to a less extent to 
the disturbance of their previously existing social and industrial system 
by the war and the emancipation of the negroes, as well as perhaps by 
some tardiness and lack of elasticity in adapting themselves to the 
changed order of things, they have lagged behind the rest of the State, as 
the following table will show : 



ST. MARY'S, 


CHARLES AND CALVERT 


COUNTIES. 






Date of Census. 


g 

ft 

o 


0) "* 
o SO 

R 


T3 
lj 

5 so 

r! 

3 
fl 


o ,§ 
a 3 so 


o ,§ 

ad 
-I-& i 
S. PQ 

a a so 

o 3 

Ph q 


Increase since 
1790. 


a 

5 


<*- 
o 

flog 

P»-i.9 

S 03 

P* 


o 

CjO 

"3 s § 
§3.2 

p* 




44,809 

41,168 

41,044 

87,547 ( 

40,128 

38,476 

39,506 

42,177 

40,547 

46,020 

40,870 


















2,581 

1,030 
2,671 

5,473 


3,641 

124 

3,497 

1,652 

1,630 
5,150 


6.87 

2.68 
6.76 

13.50 


8.13 

.30 

8.52 ! 


3,641 
3,765 
7,262 
4,681 
6,3.33 
5,303 
2,6.S2 
4,262 

3,939 


2.70 


8.13 


1810 


8.40 


1820 


16.21 




10.45 




4.12 


..., 


14.13 




11.83 








5.87 


1870 


3.86 

ii'.i9" 


1,211 


9.51 


1880 




1890 


8.79 







440 



MARYLAND. 



The population of these counties was returned by the first census at 
a higher figure than by any other of the succeeding ten, except that of 
1880. It is possible that even that exception may be more apparent 
than real, the seeming increase being not improbably due entirely to 
the more efficient machinery of enumeration then first put into operation. 
They seem to have had fewer inhabitants about 1820 than at any period 
since. Whether the closing of their accustomed transportation routes 
for some years during the preceding decade by the British fleet was the 
cause of this falling off in population, it is not now easy to say. 

The progress of this section has been long retarded, but with the 
completion of the projected railroad lines from Baltimore and Washing- 
ton through these counties, there are many reasons to believe that the 
conditions which have so long arrested their forward movement will be, 
in large measure, at least, removed. Whenever a change takes place it is 
likely to be accompanied by the springing up of towns and villages, of 
which this section of Maryland is now singularly destitute. Leonard- 
town, named after Leonard Calvert, the brother of the second Lord 
Baltimore and first Governor of the Province, and the county seat of 
St. Mary's county, is the most populous town in these counties, and in 
1890 it had but 521 inhabitants. 



DENSITY OF SETTLEMENT. 

At present the most densely settled portions of the State and the 
sections in which smaller cities, towns and villages are the most 
numerous, are the counties lying along the Pennsylvania border to the 
north and west of Baltimore City, except Garrett county, in the extreme 
west, which, situated as it is, among the higher ridges of the Alleganies, 
is still the most sparsely settled county in the State. Anne Arundel 
county directly bordering on Baltimore city, and containing, as it does, 
the city of Annapolis, has a high average density of settlement, although 
the more southern portions of the county are still comparatively thinly 
peopled. 

The following table shows the number of inhabitants to each square 
mile of the land surface of each county in 1890: 



County. 



Inhabitants 

to each 

square mile of 

land surface. 



Garrett 20 

Alleghany 87 

Washington 91 

Frederick 77 

Carroll 70 

Baltimore 117 

Harford 68 

Average for 

Northern Maryland 75 



county. 



Inhabitants 

to each 

square mile of 

land surface 



Anne Arundel 85 

Howard 65 

Montgomery 53 

Prince George's 54 

Calvert 45 

St. Mary's 43 

Charles 33 

Average for 

Southern Maryland 54 



County. 



Inhabitants 

to each 

square mile of 

land surface. 



Cecil 68 

Kent 55 

Queen Anne's 52 

Caroline 44 

Talbot 69 

Dorchester 40 

Somerset 66 

Wicomico 54 

Worcester 41 

Average for 

Eastern Shore .... 53 



THE POPULATION OF MARYLAND. 



441 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Besides Baltimore tlie cities of Cumberland, Hagerstown, Frederick 
and Annapolis, each contained more than five thousand inhabitants in 
1890. Of these cities Annapolis is the oldest, and Hagerstown during 
the last decade grew most rapidly. 

The population of each of these cities, according to the ninth, tenth 
and eleventh censuses, was as follows : 

1890. 1880. 1870. 

Cumberland 12,729 10,693 8,056 

Frederick 8,193 8,659 8,526 

Hagerstown 10,118 6,627 5,779 

Annapolis 7,604 6,642 5,774 

In 1890 there were twenty-nine other places in Maryland with more 
than one thousand inhabitants each. The names of these towns, the 
population of each, and the county in which each is situated, are stated 
below : 



City or Town. 


County. 


Popula- 
tion. 
1890. 


City ok Town. 


County. 


Popula- 
tion. 
1890. 




Dorchester 


4,192 
3,804 
3,244 
3,939 
2,905 
2,903 
2,632 
2,507 
2,318 
2,115 1 
1,984 
1,908 
1,866 i 
1,568 | 
1 






1,565 






1,526 




Harford 


Balto. and Howard. 


1,488 
1,487 




Talbot 






Wicomico 

Carroll 




Worcester 


1,483 
1,416 
1,329 








Kent 






Sparrow's Point 

Elkton 




Washington 

Cecil 


1,309 












1,249 
1,163 
1,155 




Cecil 






Chesapeake City 


Pocomoke City 






1,135 
1,036 















THE WHITE AND NEGRO POPULATION. 

As in most of the other old slave States, the primary division of the 
people has always been between the pure Caucasians on the one side 
and persons with African blood in their veins on the other. In most of 
the earlier guesses at the population of the State, no attempt was made 
to estimate the ratio borne by the white to the colored population. 

Since 1748, however, the number of inhabitants belonging to each 
class has always been estimated even if previous to the first Federal 
census in 1790 no actual count was made. 

Repeating the caution that no great reliance can be placed upon 
the estimates of population made prior to 1790, the number of whites 
and of blacks in the Province or State at the date of each estimate, and 
of each Federal census, with the percentage the inhabitants of each 



442 



MARYLAND. 



race constituted of the total population at that date, will be shown by the 
following table : 



Date of 
Enumeration 


Population. 


Percentage 

of 
Population. 


Date of 
Enumeration 
or Estimate. 


Population. 


Percentage 

of 
Population. 


or Estimate. 


White. 


Negro. 


White. 


Negro. 


White. 


Negro. 


White. , Negro. 




94,000 
107,963 
116,759 
140,110 

170,688 
208,049 
216,326 
235,117 


36,000 
46,235 
49,764 
59,717 
65.917 
83,362 
111,079 
125,222 
145,429 


72.31 
70.02 
70.12 
70.12 
70.70 
67.19 
65.26 
63.34 
61.78 


27.69 
29. 9S 
29. K8 
29.88 
29.30 
32. SI 
34.74 
36.66 
38.22 


1S20 


260,223 
291,108 
318,204 
417,943 
515,918 
605,497 
724,693 
826,493 


147,127 
155,932 
151.815 
165,091 
171,131 
175,397 
210,250 
215,897 


63.88 
65.12 
67.70 
71.68 

75.09 
77.54 

77.51 
79.29 


36.12 


1756 


1S30 


:;4.8s 


1760 


1840 


32.30 


1770 


1850 


28.33 




I860 


534.91 


1782 


1870 


33.46 


1790 


1880 

1890 


22 49 


1800 


20.71 



















Apparently from the outbreak of the Revolution until 1810, a period 
of some thirty-five years, the negro population increased at a more rapid 
ratio than did the white. Since the last mentioned date, however, the 
reverse has been true, and now the negroes number but a trifle over 
one-fifth of the entire population. 

As late, however, as 1830, persons with negro blood in their veins 
constituted more than one-third of the aggregate inhabitants, and were 
in a majority in no less than eight out of the nineteen counties into 
which the State was then divided. At that time in every one of the 
five counties lying to the south of Baltimore, there were negro majorities 
as there also were in the three adjoining Eastern Shore counties of Kent, 
Queen Anne's and Talbot. In 1890 there were only two counties, Charles 
and Calvert, in which the whites did not outnumber the negroes, and in 
each of these the negro majority was relatively small. It is seldom safe 
to prophesy as to the future movements of population, but judging by 
the history of the last eighty years, it appears highly probable that 
the negro element is destined to become numerically less and less im- 
portant. 

In the last decade the whites increased more rapidly than the 
negroes in no less than twenty-one out of the twenty-three counties of 
the State. In Baltimore county, one of the remaining two, the small 
apparent relative increase of negroes was probably due altogether to the 
annexation to Baltimore city, during the decade, of territory the negro 
population of which was proportionately smaller than that of the county 
as a whole. In Garrett, the other county in which the negroes consti- 
tuted in 1890 a greater percentage of the population than they did ten 



THE POPULATION OF MARYLAND. 443 

years previous, the total negro population was only one hundred and 
eighty-five, or less than one and a half per cent, of the aggregate 
inhabitants. The change in percentage simply means that there were a 
few more negro waiters in 1890 employed in the summer hotels at Deer 
Park and Oakland than there were in 1880. 

There is not a county in the State in which the negroes were not in 
1850, in proportion to the total population, more numerous than they 
were in 1890. 

In some counties the change in the relative number of the two races 
has been striking. Thus in Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot in 1850, the 
negroes constituted more than half of the entire population, while to-day 
they number less than two-fifths of it. Sixty years ago, in Prince 
George's county, which adjoins the District of Columbia, almost two- 
thirds of the entire population were negroes; now they number but little 
more than two-fifths. 

The negroes are least numerous in the counties of Western Maryland 
adjoining Pennsylvania. Of the five counties so situated, only in Fred- 
erick is there as many as one negro in every ten of the total population. 
In the five counties together the negroes number only about one- 
fourteenth of the population and are relatively decreasing. In the three 
counties of Baltimore, Harford and Cecil, lying along the Pennsylvania 
line to the north and northeast of Baltimore city, about one-sixth of the 
population is colored. In this section the relative proportion of the two 
races has changed but slightly in the last thirty or forty years. In the 
Eastern Shore counties south of Cecil the negroes number but little more 
than one-third of the population, and the whites have been gaining on 
them with considerable rapidity. In the central counties of the Western 
Shore, Anne Arundel, Howard, Prince George's and Montgomery, the 
whites constitute more than three- fifths of the entire population, and the 
proportion is steadily increasing, while even in the three southern 
counties of the Western Shore, in which, taken together, the negroes are 
slightly more numerous than the whites, the relative decrease has been 
so great that the indications are that by 1900 there will be a white 
majority. The colored population of Baltimore city has been largely 
increased at the expense of the counties and of Virginia, and is now rela- 
tively greater than it was thirty years ago, although slightly less than it 
was in 1880, a decrease, however, which is partly due to the annexation 
of a portion of Baltimore county containing very few negroes. 



444 



MARYLAND. 



DESCENT OF WHITE INHABITANTS. 

The earlier settlers in the Province were, as a rule, of English birth. 
In the region bounding on Pennsylvania, from Baltimore westward, there 
was a numerous influx of Germans in the eighteenth century, and in 
particular neighborhoods the dialect commonly called "Pennsylvania 
Dutch " was sometimes spoken. In the later provincial period the Scotch 
Irish formed a very influential element of the population, while there 
were many pure Irish of the elder faith. Local antiquarians interested 
in particular European nations have traced out the part persons of those 
nationalities have had in the making up of Maryland, but however 
picturesque some of those settlers and their settlements may have been, 
it remains true that for practical purposes the entire white population 
of Maryland at the date of the Revolution, and for many years after- 
wards consisted of natives of the British Isles or of Germany and their 
descendants. Between the Declaration of Independence and 1830 there 
was no great immigration from abroad, although the troubles in San 
Domingo at the close of the eighteenth century first brought many 
refugees to the State, while the population of the rapidly-growing city 
of Baltimore was being materially increased by newcomers from abroad. 
The movement from Europe beginning somewhat earlier than the date 
of the great. Irish famine and of the political troubles in Europe, 
following the popular risings of 1848, was given an enormous impetus 
by these events. 

The nativities of the population were first returned in 1850, and the 
following table shows the number of the native and foreign inhabitants 
of the State at each census from that time to this, and the ratio which 
each bears to the total population : 



Date or Census. 


POPDLATION. 


Percentage. 

OF 

Total Population. 




Native. 


Foreign. 


Native. 


Foreign. 


1850 


531,825 
609,513 
697,482 
853,137 
948,094 


51,209 
77,536 
83,412 
82,806 
94,296 


91.22 
88.72 
89.32 
91.14 
90.95 


8.78 


1860 


11.28 


1870 


10.68 


1880 


8.86 


1890 


9.05 







THE POPULATION OP MARYLAND. 



445 



As the preceding table shows, there has been no great change in the 
last fifty years in the relative number of the native and foreign born 
inhabitants of the State. The latter were, however, proportionately 
somewhat more numerous in 1860 than they have been at any time since. 

On the other hand, natives of the United States, one or both of whose 
parents were born abroad, formed in 1890 relatively a somewhat larger 
element of the population than at any time since 1870, when for the first 
time a return of the parentage of the inhabitants was made, as the 
following table shows : 





Date of Census. 


Aggregate 
Population. 


Native op Foreign 
Parentage. 




Number. 


Percentage. 


1870. . 






780,894 

934,943 

1,042,390 


97,950 
136,028 
156,421 




1880 




1890 









The population of foreign parentage, whether of native or foreign 
birth, is very unevenly distributed over the State. Proportionately it is 
most numerous in Alleghany county, where it constitutes no less than 
45.05 per cent, of the aggregate number of inhabitants. The bringing in 
during the last forty or fifty years of successive importations of foreign 
miners and laborers to work the mines in this county, has resulted in the 
foreign element being there more largely represented than elsewhere. 
Next to Alleghany county, it is in Baltimore city that foreigners and the 
children of foreigners are relatively the most abundant, forming as they 
do 41.55 per cent, of the total population of the metropolis of the State. 
Such counties as Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Harford and Howard, adjoining 
on or lying in the immediate neighborhood of Baltimore city and Garrett, 
to which some of the foreign born residents of the neighboring county of 
Alleghany and some of their children have moved, come next in order. 
Outside of the city and counties above named, there are no counties in 
the State in which persons of foreign parentage amount to as much as 10 
per cent, of the total population, while in some of the more Southern 
counties of the Eastern and Western Shores not one inhabitant in every 
hundred had either parent born abroad. 

In Maryland, as generally throughout the country, immigrants from 
Europe seem consciously or unconsciously to avoid sections in which 
persons of negro blood are numerous. The following table, which 
shows the relative proportion of native whites, of native whites of 
foreign parentage, of foreign born whites, of native colored and of 



446 



MARYLAND. 



foreign born colored for each county in the State, makes this tendency 
quite plain : 



G'OUKTIES. 


Aggregate 
Popula- 
tion. 


Native White 
of Native 
Parentage. 


Native White 
of Foreign 
Parentage. 


Foreign 
White. 


Native 
Colored. 


Foreign 
Colored. 


Num- 
ber. 


Per 
Cent. 


Num- 
ber. 


Per 

Cent, 


Num- 
ber. 


Per 
Cent. 


Num- 
ber. 


Per 

Cent. 


Num- 
ber. 


Per 

Cent. 




41,571 

34,094 
72,909 
434,439 
9,860 
13,903 
32,376 
25,851 
15,191 
24,843 
49,512 
14,213 
28,993 
16,269 
17,471 
27,185 
26,080 
18,461 
15,819 
24,155 
19,736 
3n,782 
19,930 
19,747 


21,405 
14,657 

4,044 
186,625 

4,731 

9,570 
28,030 
19,421 

6,772 
15,797 
40,041 
11,813 
18,905 

9,730 

9,985 
16,462 
13,364 
11,440 

7,966 
14,464 
11,374 
35,197 
14,585 
12,907 


51.49 
42.99 
56.30 
42 96 
47.98 
68.83 
86.57 
75.12 
44.58 
63.59 
80.87 
83.12 
65.20 
59.81 
57.15 
60.56 
51.24 
61.97 
50.36 
59.88 
57.63 
88.48 
73.18 
65.36 


13,109 

2,015 

13,204 

111,942 

32 

283 

1,528 

1,535 

170 

188 

1,896 

1,635 

2,453 

1,623 

432 

686 

915 

302 

121 

118 

496 

1,570 

104 

64 


31.53 

5-91 

18.11 

25.77 

• .32 

2.04 

4.72 

5.94 

1.12 

.76 

3.83 

11.50 

8 46 

9.98 

2.47 

2.52 

3.51 

1.63 

.76 

.49 

2.51 

3.95 

.52 

.32 


5,621 

2,908 
8,431 
68,576 
33 
239 
683 
894 
112 
148 
1,046 
580 
1,259 
806 
347 
352 
588 
162 
66 
68 
378 
507 
42 
41 


13.52 

8.53 

11.56 

15.78 

.34 

1.71 

2.11 

3.46 

.73 

.591 

2.11 

4.08 

4.35 

4.95 

1.41 

1.29 

2.25 

.88 

.42 

.28 

1.91 

1.27 

.21 

.21 


1,430 
14,497 
10,208 
66,869 
5,064 
3,809 
2,133 
4,001 
8,136 
8,707 
6,526 
185 
6,374 
4,107 
6,804 
9,685 
11,211 
. 6,555 
7,666 
9,500 
" 7,486 
2,506 
5,198 
6,731 


3.44 

42.52 
14.00 
15.39 
51.36 
27.40 

6.59 
15 48 
53.56 
35.05 
13.18 

1 30 
21.98 
25.24 
38.95 
35.63 
42.99 
35.51 
48.46 
39.33 
38.44 

6.30 
26.08 
34.09 


6 

17 
22 
427 


.02 




.05 
.03 


Baltimore City 


.10 




1 


.02 




.01 








1 
S 


.01 




.01 


Frederick 


.01 


Harford 


2 
3 
3 


.01 
.02 


Kent 


.02 


Prince George's 

Queen Anne's 




2 
2 


.01 
.01 


Somerset 

Talbot 

Washington 


5 
2 
2 
1 
4 


.03 
.01 

.01 




.02 






The State 


1,042,390 


576,285 


55.29 


156,421 


15.00 


93,787 


9.00 


215.38S 


20.67 


509 


.04 



The proportion which the natives born of foreign parentage bear to 
the foreign born, varies considerably. In some counties, such as Alle- 
ghany, to which immigration was relatively greater a generation ago 
than it is now, the foreigners are less than half as numerous as the natives 
of foreign parentage. In other counties to which foreign immigration 
has but recently set in, the foreigners are more numerous than the native 
children of foreigners. 

Large as has been the foreign element added to the population of 
Maryland within the last sixty years, there is no reason to doubt that the 
overwhelming majority of it will be absorbed without difficulty in the 
native population, as much of it has already been, and that, too, without 
making any noticeable change of importance in the previously existing 
character of the population. Immigrants from Europe have brought 
various customs with them. Such of these customs as proved attractive 
to Americans and were adopted to a greater or less extent by them, have 
taken some root, and are likely to continue, while the rest seldom last 
much longer than the generation which brought them over the ocean. 
Persons who fear a permanent change in the character of the population 
lose sight of the fact that the branches which have been engrafted upon 
the older American stock are very closely related to it. 



THE POPULATION OP MARYLAND. 



447 



The English race was composed of an admixture in varying propor- 
tions of the victorious invading hosts of the Germanic and Scandinavian 
tribes with the original Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles. As the 
following table shows, the overwhelming majority of the foreigners 
residing in Maryland are, and always have been, natives either of the 
British Islands, or of some of the Scandinavian or Germanic countries of 
continental Europe : 







Born in British Isles or 








Total 


in Germanic or Scandi- 


All iOthers. 




Foreign 


navian Countries. 








Population. 










Number. 


Per Cent. 


Number. 


Per Cent. 


1S50 




51,798 
75,980 
79,098 


97.20 
98.00 
94.83 
93.87 
87.30 


1,490 
1,549 
4,314 
5,078 
11,975 


2.80 
2.00 
5.17 
6.13 
12.70 


1860 




1870 




1S80 


82,806 
94,296 


1890 


82,321 





*The total foreign population for 1850 stated in this table differs from that given : 
The difference exists between the different tables in the Census of 1850. 



. previous table 



It will be noticed, from the above table, that there has recently 
been a marked relative increase in the immigration to Maryland of 
members of non-British and non-Teutonic races. The following table 
shows that this increase has been principally among natives of Bohemia, 
Italy, Poland and Russia, the number of persons born in those countries 
and residing in Maryland having risen from 2,501 in 1880 to 9,025 in 
1890: 



Austria " Proper " . . 

Bohemia 

British America 

France 

German}' 

England 

Ireland 

Scotland 

Wales 

Italy 

Poland 

Russia 

All Other Countries. 

Total 



215 
507 
,124 
;,467 
1,557 
,093 
260 



53,2SS 



333 
599 
!,762 

1,235 
1.872 
,583 
701 
229 



266 
789 
644 
649 

47,045 

4,932 

23,630 

2,432 

994 

210 

145 

50 

1,626 



401 

1,169 

988 

620 

45,481 

5,244 

21,865 

2,645 

924 

477 

642 

213 

2,137 



1,388 

1,554 

1,020 

623 

52,436 
5,591 

18,735 
2,323 
761 
1,416 
1,797 
4,258 
2,393 

94,296 



/ 

CHAPTER XVI. 



Jq 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 



The preceding pages have described many institutions that are 
deemed worthy of praise, but in few of them does Maryland take more 
pride than in her charities. The cry of the needy has always brought a 
generous response, and many earnest lives and many fortunes have been 
devoted to the care of the dependent and delinquent. 

ADVANCED METHODS. 

Since the administration of charity has become a subject of scientific 
stuuy, and public attention has been given to the methods and ultimate 
effects rather than to the amount of charity, Maryland has been com- 
paratively quick to adopt the improved methods. How to relieve distress 
without pauperizing the recipients, how to restore the wayward to lives 
of usefulness, and how to give the homeless child a just share in our 
inherited civilization, are questions to whose solution a goodly number of 
the people of Maryland are devoting their best energies. 

As early as 1849 the Society for the Improvement of the Condition 
of the Poor was organized, having for "its object and design" "to 
discourage indiscriminate alms-giving, street begging, pauperism and 
idleness; and to elevate the moral and physical condition of the indigent, 
and so far as compatible with those objects, the relief of their necessities." 
Thus a beginning was made in the reformation of charities, though the 
fact that the association soon became almost exclusively a relief -giving 
agency, indicates that public sentiment did not yet recognize the import- 
ance of curing as well as feeding the pauper. 

The association, however, has never forgotten its avowed purpose, 
and much has been accomplished by it toward the introduction of wise 
methods of relief. 

In 1868, the Maryland Prisoners' Aid Association was established 
with reform in punitive methods as one of its leading objects. 

Through the efforts of this association and its honored president, 
countless abuses have been remedied, a number of reformatory institu- 
tions have been established, and public attention has been constantly 
directed to the importance of preventive and reformatory measures. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 449 

Toward improvements in the structure and management of county 
almshouses and jails several influences have conspired. Since 1870 an 
officer of the Prisoner's Aid Association has annually visited these 
institutions, giving valuable suggestions to those in charge, and calling 
public attention to abuses which require the force of public opinion for 
their redress. 

An important factor in this reform movement was a plain-spoken 
report upon the public charities of Maryland, which was issued by the 
State Board of Health in 1877; and since 1885 the frequent visits and 
annual reports of the State Lunacy Commission have stimulated the 
progressive tendencies. As a result of these efforts the secretary of the 
commission confidently affirms that the Maryland almshouses and jails 
are, on the whole, as well conducted as those of any State in the Union. 

The improvements in the management of almshouses and jails, 
resulting somewhat incidentally from the activity of the State Board of 
Health and the Lunacy Commission, indicate that still more might be 
accomplished by a Board charged especially with the oversight of the 
charities of the State ; and the establishment of a State Board of Chari- 
ties is now under consideration. 

But since its establishment in 1881, the Charity Organization Society 
of Baltimore has been the chief factor in the dissemination of advanced 
methods in the administration of charities. Of the specific work of 
these societies more will be said in another place. 

The institutions for the care of the dependent and delinquent classes 
of Maryland naturally centre in Baltimore, where the aggregation of 
nearly one-half the population of the State concentrates social needs 
and renders organized effort for their relief both natural and easy. The 
present chapter, therefore, will first consider those institutions and 
societies which are dealing with the social problems of Baltimore, and 
then, under each subdivision, something will be said of the local work 
which is being done in the various branches of charity and correction in 
the different counties of the State. In describing these institutions an 
effort will be made to follow a natural order. 

INSTITUTIONS FOR INFANTS. 

Through this order of treatment the first picture to present itself is 
one of the saddest of all. Over four hundred friendless little infants, 
deprived of mothers through death, or more often, cast away by them in 
order to escape burdens or hide shame, are yearly brought to the three 
infant asylums. 

Most of the abandoned infants which are brought in by the Police 
Department soon die from the effects of bad blood, disease and exposure. 
29 



450 MARYLAND. 

Those coming from the lying-in hospitals have a better chance of life, 
though, at best, the motherless infant has a precarious existence. 

Of the four hundred infants left to the care of the public, about one- 
half are taken to St. Vincent's In/ant Asylum, where they are cared 
for by the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's of Emmittsburg. This 
institution was founded in 1856, and since 1860 has occupied its present 
site on the corner of Lafayette avenue and Division street. Children 
are received up to six years of age and about one hundred and fifty are 
to be found in the institution at any time. Unless restored to their 
parents or provided with suitable homes before that time, the children 
are kept until seven years of age, when they are transferred to other 
institutions. 

A Maternity Hospital, connected with the institution, offers shelter 
and reformatory influences to unprotected young women who need such 
an asylum, and are not hardened in sin. 

The system of boarding-out infants till eighteen months of age has 
been tried and found to result in a diminished mortality. 

A kindergarten is provided for the children between the ages of 
three and seven, and its good effects are apparent in the bright faces of 
the children and the zest with which they enter into the games and 
exercises. Institution children need the kindergarten more than any 
others. 

A farm of sixty-three acres, located near Mount Hope, supplies the 
institution with milk and other farm products, and in summer is utilized 
for giving the children a short experience of country life. 

A new building is about to be erected upon the farm with a view to 
keeping all the children in the country during the summer months. 

The Nursery and Child's Hospital on Schroeder street is managed 
by charitable women of the city, some of whom devote much of their 
time to its interests. A stately mansion, once in the outskirts of the city, 
forms the nucleus of the building, and the broad porticoes and large 
grounds invite the children to healthful exercise. Infants are committed 
here as to St. Vincent's Asylum, by the magistrates of Baltimore, or of 
other districts of the State, and many are left temporarily by parents who 
are unable to care for them. Many children are adopted from this institu- 
tion, and attractive ones, especially if they be girls, are readily placed in 
desirable homes. If suitable homes are not found for children before 
they are five years of age, they are usually transferred to some orphan- 
age, where they may receive instruction. An. oversight is kept of all 
placed-out children and applications for the admission of infants are 
carefully investigated to prevent parents from putting away their 
children for merely selfish reasons. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 451 

As the name of the institution implies, it embraces a hospital depart- 
ment for the benefit of sick children. A new wing has recently been 
built which makes room for about fifty more children upon the upper 
floor, while the lower floor is equipped as a dispensary for the treatment 
of such children of the poor as do not require residence in the hospital. 

The third infant asylum of Baltimore is known as St. .Elizabeth's 
Home for Colored Orphan Children. It is under the management of the 
Sisters of the Franciscan Order. The department for infants is located at 
No. 317 St. Paul street, where about one hundred colored foundlings and 
orphans were received last year. The number is increasing. As soon as 
old enough to receive instruction the boys are transferred to the Wilming- 
ton orphanage for colored boys, but the girls remain with the Franciscan 
Sisters in a neatly kept orphanage connected with the Franciscan 
Convent, on Maryland avenue. One-half the working-hours are devoted 
to study and one-half to learning house-work and sewing. The girls are 
placed out at service in families as soon as they have had sufficient 
training. 

The Home for Mothers and Infants, on Barclay and Twenty-first 
streets, is doing good work in saving both mother and infant by keeping 
them together. A recent report of this home says : " There is no better 
education for the mother's character than the care of her child. When 
the mother first comes to us she may be an ignorant, childish, frivolous 
young girl, her higher nature dormant, her reason and conscience in so 
undeveloped a state that they cannot be relied on as a guiding power. 
But there is one resource. What the undeveloped conscience cannot do 
for her, her love for her child will accomplish." 

Since the institution was opened in 1890, about fifty destitute 
mothers with their infants have found in it a temporary home and a 
sanitarium for their moral, physical and economic improvement. The 
women usually remain in the home from eight to ten months, during 
which time they are kept busy, so far as their strength permits in 
learning to sew, do housework, and care for their infants properly and in 
making clothing. An opportunity is given for earning something by 
their work, and when they are prepared to leave, positions are found for 
them, usually in the country, where they can support themselves with 
their infants. 

DAY NURSERIES. 

Two day nurseries have been established in East Baltimore for the 
care of the small children of industrious women who are kept from their 
homes all day by employment. The mothers are charged five cents a 
day for one child, seven cents for two and ten cents for three. The 
Baltimore Day Nursery is on Patterson Park avenue, and the North- 



452 MARYLAND. 

eastern Day Nursery is on Orleans street. A day nursery has also been 
established in connection with the Electric Sewing Machine Rooms. 

FREE KINDERGARTENS. 

The Kindergarten seems likely to become a part of the public school 
system, but at present the free kindergartens of Baltimore are supported 
and managed as private charities. The importance of the kindergarten 
as a means for rescuing little children from harmful influences and 
directing their pliant minds into channels that lead to intellectual 
activity and moral strength, is being recognized more and more each 
year. 

The first free kindergarten in Baltimore was opened in 1883, under 
the supervision of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Since 
then, according to a recent report made to the Kindergarten Association, 
the number has been increased to ten for children from the streets and 
alleys, and four for children in institutions. 

They are supported largely by individual churches, and are usually 
located in those portions of the city which contain the greatest number 
of poor children. The increasing interest in this means of bettering the 
condition of the children of the poor has been manifested during the 
past winter in the formation of a Kindergarten Association for the 
purpose of establishing new free kindergartens, and furthering the 
adoption of the kindergarten system in the public schools. 

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN. 

Before describing the Homes for Children some mention should be 
made of the means of rescuing the unfortunate ones from the cruelty of 
unnatural parents, and from an environment of vice and crime. 

For this purpose the /Society for the Protection of Children from 
Cruelty and Immorality was organized in June of 1877. A salaried agent 
devotes his entire time to the work of the society in protecting children 
within their homes, removing them when necessary, and seeing that the 
laws in behalf of children are carried out. 

During the year ending March 31, 1893, 208 cases were investigated, 
affecting the welfare of 471 children, and 189 children were removed 
from cruel, intemperate or depraved parents or guardians. Of this 
number 28 were found homes in private families, 15 were transferred to 
the Henry Watson Children's Aid Society and 146 were placed in twenty- 
one different homes or reformatories for children. 

An important part of the work of this society has been directed 
toward the enactment of suitable Laws for the Protection of Children. 
In respect to the legislative work we will quote from a sketch of the 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 453 

Society for the Protection of Children, which Mr. G. S. Griffith addressed 
to the National Prison Congress of December. 1892 : 

It is generally conceded by persons familiar with such matters, that the State of Mary- 
land occupies the most advanced position in the matter of this kind of legislation, and this 
is owing entirely to the efforts of the Society. The various statutory regulations, drafted 
and presented at different times to the Legislature by the Society, and afterwards enacted, 
will be briefly noted. 

1. The habeas corpus law. The effect of this statute is to enable judges in all cases 
involving the custody of children to proceed with sole regard to the interest of the child and 
to do everything that a humane regard for the child's welfare requires, absolutely ignoring 
every other consideration. The entire subject is placed upon a strictly humanitarian basis. 

2. The destitute and suffering minors' law. Under this act a child that is neglected or 
ill-treated can be immediately removed from its parent or other custodian, without any of 
those delays or formalities that are incident to ordinary legal proceedings. 

3. A statute, exceedingly comprehensive in its terms, prohibiting the use of children 
for begging or the like. 

4. A statute, exempting from vexations, suits or prosecutions, persons who "harbor" 
children, when there is reason to believe that they have been ill-treated by their parents. 

5. A statute, prohibiting the selling or giving of cigars, cigarettes or tobacco to minors 
under fifteen years. 

6. A statute, recently passed and very stringent, prohibiting the employment of 
children under sixteen years for more than ten hours a day. 

7. A recent statute, authorizing courts to sentence minors to juvenile institutions 
instead of ordinary prisons. 

8. An " adoption" law passed by the Legislature of 1892. 

HOMES FOE CHILDREN. 

It seems natural that the care of orphans should be the first charity 
to be undertaken by the public in a systematic way, and whatever other 
institutions may have been in existence during the early history of the 
city it is at least true that the oldest of the present charitable institu- 
tions of Baltimore are orphanages. 

The Benevolent Society of St. Paul's Parish was incorporated in 1799 
for the support of an orphanage which is still sustained with increasing 
resources. 

The Baltimore Orphan Asylum grew out of a "charity school," 
which was incorporated as early as 1778, and assumed the name of 
" Female Orphaline Charity School " in 1801. 

A number of the other orphanages started as free schools for the 
education of indigent children, but when the free public schools made 
that charity unnecessary, the funds which had accumulated for the. sup- 
port of the schools were used for the care of orphans. The name St. 
Peter's School is still to be seen over the door of the orphanage on Myrtle 
avenue, and the corporation known as the Trustees of St. Peter's School 
is still in active existence as a support for the orphanage. 

Including the infant asylums already described, and excluding cor- 
rectional institutions, there are forty-one homes for children in Maryland. 



454 MARYLAND. 

With the exception of a State institution for feeble-minded children 
and a State school for the deaf, all these homes are under private control, 
though fifteen receive appropriations from the State treasury and twelve 
from Baltimore city. 

The following figures are obtained from data carefully gathered for 
the Maryland exhibit in the department of charities and correction at the 
World's Columbian Exposition : 

Excluding the special schools and the industrial homes, we find 
thirty-three homes, which shelter 1,743* children. The real estate so 
occupied, exclusive of buildings rented, was valued at $1,781,665, and in 
addition to the use of this property the operating expenses of these 
institutions the last fiscal year amounted to $182,649. These expenses 
were met in part by the income from endowments and productive 
investments amounting in the aggregate to about $2,505,583. A total 
indebtedness of $29,344 was reported; but the interest upon the indebted- 
ness was not included in the operating expenses. Thus we find that 
upon the average, the support of an orphan for one year costs $104.79 
in addition to the use of $1,022.18 of property.f 

Of the small children, more boys are received than girls, and fewer 
are adopted; but the boys leave the institution earlier than the girls. 
In accordance with the public sentiment upon that point, white and 
colored children are never found in' the same institution, though both 
races are well provided for. 

The orphanages of Baltimore are subject to no general control nor 
systematic visitation, and of course the efficiency of their work vai'ies 
with the special fitness of those who are placed in charge ; but public 
interest in their work acts as a stimulus to good management, and, 
granting that orphans must be raised in institutions, it may be doubted 
whether much better results could be obtained without greater outlay. 
There are a few which may be called ideal homes ; in none do we find 
gross abuses. That they are well managed from the standpoint of sani- 
tation is indicated by the low death rate which, excluding infant 
asylums, was for the last year but seven to the thousand.:); 

On looking at these institutions more closely, they appear to fall into 
groups. In the first place there are three large non-denominational 
orphanages, with from one hundred and twelve to one hundred and fifty 

*This number is obtained from the number of clays' board for the year. The total number of 
inmates for the year is, of course, greater. 

t These figures, however, do not include the total cost of maintaining these institutions, for nearly 
all the orphanages receive many donations in the form of provisions, clothing, and gratuitous service, 
which are not reported in the operating expenses. 

IBy comparing the report of the City Health Department for 1892 with the returns of the U.S. 
Census of 1890, we find that the death rate for the total population of Baltimore between the ages of five 
and twenty was but 6.88 to the thousand. The average vitality of orphans, when recived by the insti- 
tution, is doubtless below that of other children. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 455 

boys and girls in each, then a group of five orphan asylums under Roman 
Catholic management, then three Protestant institutions for colored 
children, a Hebrew orphan asylum, eight denominational or church 
orphanages, mostly for girls; then a group of institutions, mostly for 
older children, which are more distinctly industrial or educational ; and, 
finally, five local orphanages in different parts of the State. 

All these institutions, except one home for little colored children, 
provide at least an elementary education in English branches, usually 
about the same that is given to children of the same age in the public 
schools, though as a rule institution children are not as readily interested 
in studies as those who are stimulated by the outside life. In addition 
to their school studies, girls are always taught to sew and do housework. 
The Home of the Friendless, on Druid Hill Avenue, is the largest 
Protestant orphanage in the State. Destitute children of all ages under 
twelve years are received, though but few are taken in infancy. Many 
children are placed here temporarily by parents who hope soon to be 
able to provide for them again. When able, such parents pay something 
for the support of their children. 

A kindergarten has been recently established for the younger children. 
Suitable homes are found for the inmates as soon as possible, and but few 
are kept beyond the age of twelve. Of the 266 children in the institu- 
tion last year there were : 

Discharged to Parents or Friends 75 

Provided with Homes 33 

Transferred to McDonogh School 4 

Transferred to Manual Labor School 2 

Transferred to Samuel Ready Home 3 

Transferred to All Saints' Orphanage 2 

Died 3 

Remaining at the close of the year 155 

The Baltimore Orphan Asylum, on Strieker street, receives only 
children who are above five years of age, and usually retains them till 
they are able to earn their living in the outside world. Like the Home 
of the Friendless, this asylum is supported in part by private subscriptions 
and public appropriations, but its chief income is derived from invest- 
ments which have been accumulating ever since Captain Yellott 
bequeathed $2,000 to it in the year 1807. 

The third of the large general orphan asylums is known among its 
patrons as the Allgemeines Deutsdhes Waisenhaus. It is supported by 
the Protestant German population of the city, over twenty-eight hundred 
persons contributing each year in sums varying from twenty-five cents to 
fifty dollars. A sewing society of three hundred and sixty-six members 
supplies the clothing, and, according to the last printed report, fourteen 
other German societies are associated with the asylum. 



456 MARYLAND. 

At the age of fourteen the boys are bound out to learn a trade, and 
most of the girls are provided with homes or situations as domestics. 
One of the most interesting features of this institution is its use of the 
neighboring public schools for the education of the children. The 
expense of separate schools is thus avoided, and the children have the 
stimulus of contact with outer life. The superintendent of this institu- 
tion reports that no extra difficulty arises from the system, and the 
Hebrew Orphan Asylum has adopted the same method with satisfaction- 

Among the institutions which are under Roman Catholic manage- 
ment we find a correlation which is largely wanting in the other charities 
of the city. St. Vincent's Infant Asylum provides for white children 
under seven years of age, while between the ages of seven and fourteen 
girls find a home in St. Mary's Female Orphan Asylum and boys in the 
St. Vincent de Paul Orphan Asylum, where school work receives the 
chief attention. Older girls are given industrial training at St. Joseph's 
House of Industry, and a reformatory institution is provided for wayward 
children of each sex. The St. Mary's Orphan Asylum maintains more 
children than any other institution in the State. Many girls are com- 
mitted to it from the different counties as well as from the city, and its 
support is largely derived from public appropriations. The city pays 
two dollars a week each for eighty or ninety committed children. 

The St. Vincent de Paul Asylum, on Front street, is managed by the 
Brotherhood of the Christian Schools, and the boys attend the St. Vincent 
de Paul parish school. 

St. Anthony's German Orphan Asylum is supported by the German 
Catholic churches of Baltimore. The children attend the St. James 
Parochial School, and at the age of twelve are placed in German Catholic 
families, where they are regularly visited. 

There are two other Roman Catholic institutions for white children 
located on Gough street in East Baltimore : The Dolan Children's Aid 
Asylum and St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum. The children from both 
attend neighboring Catholic schools, and both are supported in part by 
an income from the estate left by Father Dolan. 

For colored orphans there are two institutions under Catholic man- 
agement : The St. Elizabeth Home, already described, and the St. Frances 
Orphan Asylum, on East Chase street. The latter institution is under 
the control of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, a Roman Catholic 
sisterhood of colored women, established in 1829 for the education of 
colored girls. Under the same roof is an academy for colored girls, and 
a few of the orphans who are especially bright in their studies receive 
advanced instructions in the academy. The support for the orphans is 
obtained largely by personal solicitation. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 457 

Of tlie three Protestant institutions for colored children the one of 
chief interest is the Johns Hopkins Colored Orphan Asylum, where 
about thirty girls are being trained for useful lives. 

Among the directions given by Johns Hopkins to the Trustees of the 
Johns Hopkins Hospital Endowment, provision was made for the 
establishment, at some future time, of a large institution "for the 
reception, maintenance and education of orphan colored children." 
Accommodation was to be provided for three or four hundred children, 
and a possible income of twenty thousand dollars was named. The 
execution of the other provisions of the Hopkins gift have made it 
necessary to delay the establishment of the orphans' home, upon the 
large scale contemplated by the donor, and meanwhile the present 
asylum for colored girls is being maintained from the Hospital fund. 

St. Mary's Home for Colored Boys is one of the charities con- 
nected with the Mount Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church, and is 
under the management of a branch of the Order of All Saints' Sisters. 

The Simmons Home for Friendless Children is managed by an 
association of charitable colored people. It has been lately reorganized 
and moved to No. 130 North Pearl street. 

One of the largest and best conducted of the homes for children is 
the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, on Calverton Heights. The large building, 
imposing from the outside, is scrupulously clean within, and order is 
everywhere apparent. A kindergarten is provided for the little children. 
The older ones attend the public school, where they are said to stand at 
the head of their classes. On returning from the public schools an hour is 
given to the study of Hebrew and German. An Orphans' Aid Society, 
composed of several hundred Hebrew women, supplies clothing for the 
children, and finds employment for them on leaving the orphanage. By 
the help of this society a "grand bazaar" was held in March of 1892, 
which yielded over twenty-three thousand dollars for the benefit of the 
orphan asylum and other Hebrew charities. 

There is room for but few words concerning the eight church orphan- 
ages. Two only receive boys. Si. John's Orphanage, at Waverley, is 
under the control of the vestry of St. John's Episcopal Church, and the 
boys attend the parish school. The Baptist Orphanage of Maryland, 
on West Lanvale street, receives both boys and girls. It was opened in 
October of 1890, through the efforts of two charitable women, who 
devote their time to the care and instruction of the children. The 
support comes largely from the Brantley Baptist Church. 

Of the six church orphanages for girls, four are connected with 
Protestant Episcopal Churches : The All Saints' Training Home (Mount 
Calvary Church) ; the Girls' Orphanage of St. Paul's Parish, incorporated 
as The Benevolent Society of the City and County of Baltimore ; the Christ 



458 



MARYLAND. 



Church Asylum for Female Children, and St. Peter's Asylum for Female 
Children. The Egenton Female Orphan Asylum is under the control of 
the First Presbyterian Church, and the Kelso Home for Orphans of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church is under the partial control of the Baltimore 
Methodist Conference, though it has a self -perpetuating board of trustees. 
All of these orphanages, except the last, receive young girls of any 
denomination, and all keep them in charge until eighteen years of age. 
The comparatively small number in each institution allows some approach 
to family relationship, and an effort to make the orphanage pleasant and 
homelike is apparent in all. The Benevolent Society, Egenton, and Kelso 
homes are supported entirely by endowments, while the others depend 
largely upon annual subscriptions and contributions. The Christ Church 
and Kelso Homes occupy fine buildings in North Baltimore, and the 
Benevolent Society has a summer home in the same part of the city. 

In the church orphanages for girls much attention is given to moral, 
intellectual and industrial training; but two of the endowed homes for 
children have been so carefully planned from the standpoint of education 
that they are no less interesting to the educator than to the philan- 
thropist. One of these is the McDonogh School for Boys, which has 
been treated in another chapter; the other is the Samuel Ready Asylum 
for Female Orphans, which will now be described somewhat in detail as 
an institution especially worthy of study. 

Upon the death of Samuel Ready in 1871 the sum of $371,000 was 
placed in the hands of a self-perpetuating board of trustees for the 
establishment and support of the asylum, which had already been 
incorporated. By allowing this fund to accumulate for a number of 
years, the grounds have been purchased and improved with a total cost 
of $179,000, while still leaving a productive endowment of $524,947. 
The income from this endowment is greater than the annual operating 
expenses, and the surplus is used for new buildings. A new wing was 
built last year, a house for the gardener has just been completed, and a 
school building separate from the home is planned by the trustees in 
order to increase the capacity of the institution. There are now sixty 
girls in the home, thirty-eight from Baltimore and twenty-two from 
twelve counties of the State. The number of eligible applicants so 
much exceeds the capacity of the house that, as with the McDonogh 
School, some discretion may be used in selecting those who will make 
the best use of the exceptional advantages which are offered. In the 
introduction to a recent report of the United States Bureau of Education 
upon "Industrial and Manual Training in Public Schools," Mr. Isaac 
Edwards Clarke speaks of the Samuel Ready Asylum as "an ideal 
orphans home," and describes some of its characteristics in the following 
words : 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 459 

"The feature which differences this from many other similar 'orphans' 
homes' is the care taken to prevent any consciousness by the children 
that they are inmates of a charitable institution; while in many 
so-called orphans' homes, there seems to be a constant effort to impress 
this one fact upon the consciousness of the unfortunate child-inmates. In 
this truer 'home,' on the contrary, the development of the independence, 
self-reliance, self-respect, and personal character of the individual child, 
is a constant purpose kept in view; in connection with the effort to 
surround all with the protection and happiness of a home. The children 
of this family, inmates of a cheerful, well-ordered household, may well 
be reckoned as exceptionally fortunate. Here the spirit of Frobel's 
ideals of child happiness and child development seems to be admirably 
embodied ; though not shown by formal kindergarten methods." * 

" The excellent methods here adopted are, indeed, well worth the 
careful study of all interested in similar establishments; yet, in this 
instance, as in so many others of exceptional success, the secret must be 
held to lie rather in the personality of the individual teacher, than in 
formal communicable methods." 

An air of culture and refinement is to be found in all the appoint- 
ments of the house. Curtains in the dormitories and bath-rooms provide 
private apartments for dressing and the daily bath. The usual orphans' 
uniform gives way to tasteful garments suited to the features and to the 
choice of each individual. Through an elaborate system of rotation 
all kinds of household duties are assigned and each room is placed in 
the charge of some girl who uses, and cultivates, her own taste in 
keeping it in order. Each child has a small flower-bed of her own. All 
are taught sewing, cooking and even marketing and shopping. An 
opportunity for earning money at the rate of two cents per hour is given 
for overtime work, and the girls learn to economize in the use of their 
earnings. Every care is taken to preserve the health of the pupils, and 
there has been no serious illness in the institution since it was opened 
in 1887. 

The girls have a vacation in August, varying in length from one day 
to three weeks. Those who do the best work or make the greatest effort, 
get the longest holiday, and the fact that the length of their holiday 
depends upon themselves is a great incentive to earnest effort. 

In the school-room the most approved methods are in use ; drawing, 
vocal music, and physical culture are prominent features in the instruc- 
tion of all. As all the girls must be prepared for self-support, each 
individual receives careful attention, and is given special instruction in 
accordance with her proclivities. Twelve girls are now learning type- 

* There is a kindergarten class, though it is used chiefly as a recreation or as a reward for good 
class work. No children are received under live years of age. 



460 MARYLAND. 

writing, and ten instrumental music ; two are taking drawing lessons at 
the Maryland Institute ; one is receiving special instruction in scientific 
cooking, while five are taking a special course in dress mating. The 
girls attend churches of their respective denominations, and no sectarian 
views are inculcated, but in all the regulations of the institution the 
development of strong moral character is recognized as the most 
important object to be attained. 

The Boys' School of St. Paul's Parish is an institution for the 
maintenance and education of poor boys during the school year. Twenty- 
five are now in attendance. Some of the boys return to their homes 
during the summer, and some are supported elsewhere by the schooL 

The Baltimore Manual Labor School for Indigent Boys is at the 
same time an educational and an industrial institution, located a few 
miles from the city upon a farm of one hundred and fifty acres. Accord- 
ing to the Baltimore Charities Directory, about thirteen hundred boys 
have been received since the foundation of the institution in 1845. The 
products of the farm, through the help of the boys, yield about one-half 
the operating expenses. 

St. Joseph's House of Industry, like St. Vincent's Infant Asylum 
and St. Mary's Female Orphan Asylum, is under the management of the 
Sisters of Charity, and nearly all its seventy-five inmates came from the 
latter institution. Only girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen 
are received. An hour a day is devoted to school work, but the chief 
occupation is sewing. Each girl is given thorough instruction in the 
different branches of sewing and dressmaking, and much fine work is 
done for regular customers. When the girls leave the house employment 
and suitable homes are found for them ; but they are welcomed back 
whenever in need or out of work. A country home near Jessup's is used 
as a summer resort. 

Among the other educational homes should be mentioned the Asylum 
and Training School for the Feeble Minded of the State of Maryland. 
This is a State institution, opened in 1888, and located upon a large farm 
at Owings' Mills. Kindergarten methods are used for brightening the 
intellects of these unfortunate children, and those who are capable 
receive instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic and various industrial 
pursuits. 

A much-needed institution for epileptics will probably be built upon 
the same farm in the near future. 

The Font Hill Private Institution for Feeble-Minded and Epileptic 
Children reports thirty inmates now in attendance. Excellent training 
is given, but only pay pupils are received. This is said to be the only 
educational institution in the South which admits epileptics. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 461 

The Maryland Schools for the Blind and the Maryland School for 
the Deaf have been described in the chapter devoted to educational 
institutions. 

In the counties of Maryland are five local homes for children, of 
which the oldest is that of the Female Orphan Asylum of Annapolis, 
which was incorporated in 1828. Over one hundred destitute children 
have been received in this little cottage home, and no death nor serious 
casualty has occurred among the children in the home during the whole 
sixty-five years that it has been open. Four inmates are reported at 
present. 

The Home for Friendless Children of the Eastern Shore of Maryland 
reports fourteen inmates, all girls. This institution was established at 
Easton, Talbot County, in 1871. It is under the management of the 
Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Easton, and receives annual subscriptions 
from the different parishes of the Eastern Shore. Older girls are some- 
times placed out at service, the wages being kept for them until they are 
of age. 

Two well-kept orphanages, supported by endowments, are located at 
Frederick. The Protestant Episcopal Orphan House and B\ee School of 
All Saint's Parish, FredericMown, is an organization which began work 
in a log-house in 1833. The institution started as a free school, but the 
assistance of female orphans soon became a leading object and finally 
supplanted the day school when that form of charity became unnecessary. 
An endowment fund, amounting to $32,428, has been gradually accumulated 
and now supports twelve orphans. Like the Annapolis society, this 
institution reports that no death, nor even serious illness, has occurred in 
the home during its whole history. 

The Loots Fem.ale Orphan Asylum was opened at Frederick in 

1882, through a generous bequest by Mr. John Loats. The endowment 
with the building amounts to $40,000. It is managed under the auspices 
of the Lutheran Church by a self-perpetuating board of trustees. 

The Home for Orphan and Friendless Children at Hagerstown is 
a semi-public institution, receiving most of its income from an annual 
appropriation of $1,500 by Washington county. It was established in 

1883, through the efforts of charitable people, for the purpose especially 
of rescuing destitute children from the demoralizing influences of the 
almshouse. An endowment of $10,000 was given by Mr. B. F. Newcomer. 
The children attend a public school, which is conducted in the same 
building with the Home, and as soon as practicable they are placed out 
in private families, though remaining under the supervision of the Home 
till the age of eighteen. 



462 MARYLAND. 

PLACING OUT CHILDREN. 

A good institution is better than no home or a vicious home ; but it 
is generally recognized that the artificial, restricted life of the orphan 
asylum cannot fully take the place of the natural and free home life as 
the preparation for an active and useful career in the world. In accordance 
with this idea we find the managers of many of our orphan asylums 
eager to have their children adopted into suitable families. The Home 
of the Friendless, St. Vincent's Infant Asylum, the Nursery and Child's 
Hospital, and St. Mary's Female Orphan Asylum, place out many children 
by adoption, while older children, who are able to pay their way, are 
frequently placed at service, with certain stipulations in regard to 
education and general treatment. In addition to the Home of the 
Friendless and St. Mary's Orphan Asylum, this form of placing out is 
employed especially by the German Orphan Asylums, the Manual Labor 
School, Baltimore Orphan Asylum, the Washington County Home, and 
all the institutions for colored children. Much attention is now given 
to the oversight of placed-out children, though more could well be done 
in that direction. The laws of Maryland allow no contract to interfere 
with the manifest interests of the child. 

But the chief agency for placing destitute children in private 
families is the Henry Watson Children's Aid Society. This organiza- 
tion was incorporated in 1862 as the Children's Aid Society, and assumed 
its present appellation in 1872, after receiving an endowment of $100,000 
from Henry Watson. As reported to the National Prison Congress by 
Mr. Griffith, this society has received 2,518 children, and secured for 
them 2,147 country homes, mostly in the counties of Maryland. During 
the last year forty-eight were placed in country homes and ten in other 
institutions. 

Much care is taken in the selection of homes; but the fact that of 
those placed out last year, twenty-three had been out before, indicates 
that it is not always easy to satisfy both the child and its patron. Those 
receiving children are required to educate them, surround them with 
Christian influences, support and clothe them well, and give them, on 
reaching the age of eighteen, fifty dollars as freedom dues. Semi-annual 
correspondence is maintained with the children, and much care is taken 
not to lose sight of them; though if the income of the Society would 
admit of frequent visitation, this important part of the work could 
doubtless be done more efficiently. Mr. Griffith states the belief "that 
ninety-five per cent, of the children placed out by this Society in the 
country homes turn out well," and that "nearly ninety per cent, of those 
attaining the age of eighteen years, when they are 'free' from this 
Society, remain in the country." 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 463 

Granting that the child pays its way in the country home by the 
increased enjoyment which it brings, if not by the work which it does, 
the economy of the placing-out system becomes very apparent when we 
consider that, at $150 each, the yearly cost of maintaining one hundred 
and seventy-five children in orphan asylums would be $26,250, while 
that number of placed-out children are now cared for, and several other 
branches of work are conducted by the Henry Watson Society, with a 
total annual expense of about six thousand dollars. 

In addition to this work of placing out and overseeing children in 
country homes, the Henry Watson Society provides in its large building 
on north Calvert street, a temporary home for children, a home for 
working girls and those seeking employment, and an industrial school 
for teaching girls to sew and make dresses. 

The method of boarding-out children has not been tried system- 
atically in Maryland. 

HOMES FOE WORKING BOYS AND WORKING GIRLS. 

To supplement these homes for the support and education of children, 
Baltimore is provided with a number of charitable institutions which 
supply a home with favorable surroundings to boys or girls who are at 
work for wages. Temporary maintenance is often given to those seeking 
employment, but the regular inmates pay for their board at a low rate. 
The most notable institution of this kind is the Boys' Home, on Calvert 
street. During the last year a monthly average of ninety-nine boys 
made this institution their home. 

Homeless boys, between nine and eighteen years of age, are received, 
and a number are committed to the institution by the city magistrates. 
Positions paying from one to seven dollars per week are found for the 
boys, and a charge is made for board varying from $1.75* to $2.50 per 
week, according to the wages which the boy receives. The payments for 
board cover a little more than one-half the expense of the institution. 
Clothing is bought at wholesale and supplied to the boys at cost, while 
all the sewing and mending is done for them through a Ladies' Aid 
Society. A free night school is in session for seven months of the year, 
and free instruction in vocal music is also given for the sake of its 
refining influence. Among the recent improvements may be mentioned 
the infirmary, and a well-equipped bath-room which provides private 
bathing apartments for ten boys at a time. 

Another institution, similar in design to the Boys' Home, but under 
Catholic management, is St. James' Home for Boys, at the corner of 
High and Low streets. This home is controlled by the same corporation 
as St. Mary's Industrial School, and about one-fourth of the inmates are 

*If a boy cannot pay this amount a debt is allowed to accumulate. 



464 MARYLAND. 

from that institution. Aside from the payments made by the boys the 
chief support of the Home comes from a society organized for that 
purpose and known as the Immaculate Conception Union. 

The Guild House of St. Paul's Parish also provides a home at low 
rates for boys and young men whose wages are small. 

For working girls we have the Girls' Home of the Henry Watson 
Children's Aid Society, where about twenty inmates are given board, 
lodging and medical attendance in return for one-half their wages ; St. 
Vincent's Home for Working Girls, under the care of the Sisters of 
Mercy; and several homes for self-supporting young women, in which 
from $2.50 to $3.00 per week is paid for board and the other benefits of 
the house. Such homes are St. Paul's House, 309 Cathedral street; the 
Home for Working Girls, 25 South High street, under the care of the All 
Saints' Sisters of the Poor; the Female Christian Home, 416 North 
Greene street; and the Home of the Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciation, at 128 West Franklin street. In the year 1892 the last-named 
home provided for twenty-nine permanent and one hundred and fifty- 
seven transient boarders. 

MEDICAL AND SANITARY RELIEF FOR CHILDREN. 

Several important institutions have been recently established in 
Baltimore for the relief of sick children. They include two special 
hospitaks four dispensaries and two sanitariums. 

The Nursery and Child's Hospital, with its free dispensary, has 
already been mentioned. 

The Garrett Free Hospital and Dispensary for Children on Carey 
street is a well conducted institution supported entirely by Mrs. Robert 
Garrett. During the year ending in October 1892, ninety-nine cases were 
treated in the hospital and about two thousand cases were prescribed for 
in the dispensary. Five nurses are employed and a course of special 
training in the care of children is given, on the completion of which 
certificates are awarded. 

During the summer months the hospital is closed, and the Garrett 
Sanitarium for Children is opened at Mount Airy in Carroll county. 
Free transportation is supplied to sick children and the mothers or 
nurses who bring them. 

Two large cottages, with adjoining buildings, furnish accommoda- 
tions for twenty-five children, and a resident physician, five nurses, a 
matron, and seven servants are employed to care for them. Since these 
institutions were opened in 1888, 266 children have been admitted to the 
Hospital and 339 to the Sanitarium, 321 surgical operations have been 
performed, 13,771 cases have been treated in the dispensary, and 833 
visits have been paid to the homes of patients. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 465 

The Thomas Wilson Sanitarium for the benefit of children suffer- 
ing from complaints peculiar to summer, was opened at Mount Wilson, 
Baltimore county, in 1884. The institution cost over one hundred and 
eighty thousand dollars, and derives its support from an endowment of 
five hundred thousand. 

During the summer months a special train left Hi lien Station five 
mornings each week to convey the sick children, with their mothers or 
nurses, to the Sanitarium. On the first four days of the week white 
people were accommodated, while Friday was assigned to the colored 
applicants. 

The benefit of pure air, suitable food and special medical treatment 
were given for the day, and a return passage by special train at evening. 
Five thousand eight hundred and fifty-one people took advantage of this 
charity during the last season. Children who were very ill were allowed 
to remain at the Sanitarium over night, or, if need be, for several days, 
and when the mothers were not able to remain with them such children 
were placed in the charge of trained nurses. A longer stay is found to be 
needed by so many that increased accommodations are called for, and 
several additional cottages are being erected for use a« hospital pavilions. 
It is announced that during the coming season five trained nurses will be 
employed in the different sections of the city, each to visit and care for 
the sick children at their homes within her district, while only those 
children who need continued treatment will be taken to the Sanitarium, 
and they will be allowed to remain two weeks. 

The other hospitals of Baltimore receive children as well as adults, 
and some of the hospitals, as the Church Home and Infirmary, provide 
special wards for them; but the advantages thus offered are not fully 
utilized because poor mothers, even when unable to care properly 
for their children, are especially reluctant about placing them in other 
hands when they are sick. 

Another special dispensary for children is located at the corner of 
Druid Hill avenue and Preston street, and at 407 west Hoffman street is 
Miss Barnwell's Dispensary for Plaster of Paris Jackets and Free 
School for Deformed Children. This is a unique charity for the benefit 
of spinal cripples. The method of applying the plaster jackets has 
been developed from that of Professor Sayre, of New York. Miss 
Barnwell devotes her time and skill to the work without remuneration, 
and through the voluntary contributions of friends and patients, an 
assistant, a teacher, and an examining physician are employed. The day 
school for children who are so deformed as to prevent them from attend- 
ing the public schools, was opened in 1889. During the year 1892, 
sixty-six patients were treated in the dispensary, and twenty-one 
deformed children were taught in the schools. 

30 



466 MARYLAND. 

At this point of our study, mention should he made of the Children's 
Country Home, the Children's Summer Home, and the CJiildren's Fresh 
Air Society, each of which is an agency for giving children of poor 
people the benefit of two weeks in the country during the heated season. 
The Country Home is located at Orange Grove, Baltimore County, where 
about two hundred children were cared for last summer. A new building 
which accommodates one hundred children at a time has been opened 
for the summer of 1893. The Children's Summer Home, at Catonsville, 
is managed by an organization of young women of the Friends' Park 
Avenue Meeting. The work began last year, and arrangements have 
been made to accommodate twenty children at a time during the present 
summer. The Fresh Air Society scatters its beneficiaries among charita- 
ble families in country districts. During the two years of its existence, 
seventy-nine children have been sent out, and plans have been made for 
extending the charity to one hundred little ones in the coming season. 

EDUCATIONAL CHARITIES. 

Aside from the purely educational institutions, and the free kinder- 
gartens and homes already mentioned, we find in Baltimore a large number 
of private charities which aim to relieve want and prevent evil by teaching 
young people to care for themselves. Under this head come the numer- 
ous sewing schools which are supported by the different church societies 
of the city. Fifty-eight of them are mentioned in the list of churches 
appended to the directory of Baltimore charities. Sewing is now taught 
in all the grammar schools of the city, but these church schools are 
doing an important supplementary work. 

In addition to these local church schools, mention should be made 
of a few societies whose work covers a broader field and enlists more 
general interest. 

The work of the Henry Watson Children's -Aid Society in securing 
homes for children has been described above, but this society is also 
doing an important service to Baltimore in the line of industrial educa- 
tion through its two branches known as the Sewing Machine Department 
and the Cutting and Fitting Department. According to the report of the 
agent, about one hundred girls are in daily attendance at these two 
schools. The hours are from 9 to 12 and 2 to 4. Only needy girls are 
received and each pupil retains the garments which she has made. 

St. Joseph's Guild is a new Roman Catholic community organized in 
Baltimore five years ago and now numbering sixteen sisters. The 
purpose of the Guild is to work entirely among the colored people, 
relieving distress, strengthening the inefficient, rescuing the wayward, 
and spreading the influence of the Catholic Church. Eight sewing 
schools have been established by the Guild in different parts of the city, 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 467 

and about three hundred and twenty-five colored girls are being instructed 
In them. The work for the most part is rudimentary, but those who 
care for more technical instruction are encouraged to continue work in a 
graduate class. 

The Deaconess Home, on East Pratt street, is the centre of missionary 
and charitable work on the part of three deaconesses of the Methodist 
Church. Three industrial schools for girls are maintained, and during 
the first eight months (February 2 to September 28, 1892) two thousand 
six hundred and ninety-seven visits were made among the poor and 
needy. Two deaconesses devote their time largely to visiting the poor 
while one makes a specialty of nursing the sick. A temporary home for 
immigrant girls was opened at Locust Point in December. 

The Daughters in Israel is the name of a society of young Hebrew 
women organized here in 1890 for work among the Russian refugees. 
There are a number of separate bands under the general organization. 
Two industrial schools are in operation, a sewing-school for children and 
a class in dressmaking for older girls. The latter class is composed 
entirely of Jewish girls who are actively employed during the day, but 
are so eager to improve themselves that they attend this class at least 
three evenings in every week. A working girls' club has also proved to 
be an important factor in the work of organizing this foreign element. 
In this as in its other lines of work the society aims to render its 
beneficiaries self-supporting, self-respecting and independent. The use 
of any language other than English is discouraged, and the necessity of 
an American education is strongly impressed upon parents and children. 

Two Night Schools under Hebrew management are doing an im- 
portant work in teaching English to immigrants, and various other 
organizations offer evening instruction to young men and women who are 
employed during the day. 

One of the most interesting of the educational charities is the 
Cooking School connected with the Friends' Mission on Federal Hill. 
During the past winter a class of forty-five girls has been receiving free 
instruction in culinary art and many applicants had to be refused. Next 
year it is proposed to offer these advantages to one hundred school girls, 
with the hope of interesting the public school board in that line of 
education. Its importance cannot be doubted when one thinks of the 
amount of social and economic evil which arises from the lack of skill 
in cooking. 

Hope Institute, on Hillen street, with its night school for boys, and 
classes in cooking, dressmaking and singing, should be mentioned here, 
as well as the educational work of the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion and the Young Women's Christian Association, though in these 



468 MARYLAND. 

societies the co-operative element is combined with the charitable, and a 
small fee is usually charged for the benefit of the class work. 

Another educational charity is to be found in the Electric Sewing 
Machine Rooms, opened in May, 1891, and now located at 312 St. Paul 
street. This is a unique institution, and has proved to be an important 
factor in solving the problems which poverty and inefficiency are con- 
stantly presenting to charitable societies. The equipment consists of 
twenty-six machines run by electric power, a supply of coarse sewing from 
contractors, and a competent teacher with an assistant. Any indigent 
woman who wishes to become self-supporting has an opportunity here 
of earning something at once and of receiving instruction which will, in 
most cases, enable her to earn living wages in the field of competitive 
industry. Those who are able pay fifty cents a week for the use of the 
machines and power, while some who are in especial need are supported 
through the Charity Organization Society until able to earn their living 
by their own work. 

Eighty women have already been made entirely self-supporting 
through the benefit derived from this charity. An employment agency 
has been opened recently, and now a nursery is provided for the care of 
small children while their mothers are at work. Another room for 
teaching hand sewing, and lodging apartments for homeless women, are 
among the additions contemplated by the managers of this growing 
institution. 

In this connection mention should be made of the educational indus- 
tries carried on in the shops of the Schools for the Blind. At the North 
avenue school, in addition to the industrial training given to the regular 
students, bliud men, are taught to make brooms, and at the Saratoga 
street school blind colored men are taught chair-caning and mattress 
making, and are afterwa.rd allowed the use of the shops without charge. 

St. Mary's Colored Industrial ScJiool at Charlotte Hall, St. Mary's 
county, is doing an important work in teaching cooking, needlework, 
dressmaking, shoemaking and farming, as well as the usual school 
studies. 

THE REFORMATION OF DELINQUENTS. 

In Maryland, as in other States, the last few decades have brought 
notable improvements in the treatment of those who, through depravity 
or misfortune, have become amenable to public discipline. 

JUVENILE REFORMATORIES. 

The evident harmfulness of confining juvenile offenders with 
hardened criminals led to the incorporation of the House of Refuge as 
early as 1831, but nothing definite was accomplished until 1849, when 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 469 

the Baltimore City Council made an appropriation for the erection of a 
building. Private citizens, comprising the corporation, gave $67,000, and 
finally, in 1855, the House of Refuge was opened for the separate care 
and education of juvenile delinquents. Both hoys and girls were received 
at this institution until after the Maryland Industrial School for Girls 
(incorporated 1870) was opened at Orange Grove. In 1880, the latter 
corporation changed its name to the Female House of Refuge, and 
was soon after moved to its present location within the city. 

In the mean time homeless or wayward girls, and especially fallen 
women, who desired to reform, had been cared for in the House of the 
Good Shepherd since its establishment in 1864, and in 1878 additional 
powers were given by the General Assembly of Maryland for the com- 
mitment of wayward girls to this institution, and an annual appropria- 
tion was granted for its support. Thus reformatories for girls, under 
both Protestant and Catholic influence, were established; and simulta- 
neously a Catholic reformatory for boys was organized, through the efforts 
of Archbishop Spaulding, to supplement the work of the House of 
Refuge, and especially to provide good moral and industrial training for 
boys who were without proper home influence. This institution, St. 
Mary's Industrial School for Boys, was opened in 1866, and placed under 
the care of the Xaverian Brothers. It was conducted for eight years as 
a private charity, aided irregularly by public appropriations, but in 1874 
a new charter was granted wbich provided for the commitment to this 
institution as to the House of Refuge, of boys convicted of petty offences. 
At the same time representatives of the State and Baltimore city were 
added to the board of managers and regular appropriations were assured. 

Thus provision was made for the care of juvenile delinquents of 
both sexes, under either Protestant or Catholic management, but the fact 
that neither of these institutions received colored people left a large 
class of young offenders still exposed to the baneful influences of the 
common jails. However, public sentiment, aroused especially through 
the efforts of the Prisoners' Aid Association, was too conscious of the 
evils arising from such conditions to tolerate them long. The House of 
Reformation for Colored Boys was incorporated in 1870, and opened at 
Cheltenham, Prince George's county, in 1873; and the Industrial Home 
for Colored Girls was opened in Baltimore in 1883, and moved to its 
present location at Melvale, Baltimore county, in 1888. The division has 
been carried still further by the establishment in September, 1892, of a 
new branch of the House of the Good Shepherd, for the care of colored 
girls. 

All these six reformatories are controlled by private corporations, 
though all are supported chiefly by public appropriation. The House of 
the Good Shepherd is entirely under the control of the Sisters of the 



470 MARYLAND. 

Good Shepherd, and receives aid from the State only, while the other 
institutions receive about equal appropriations from the State and city, 
and recognize public authority in their management through the appoint- 
ment by the Governor and Mayor of a few of the trustees. In the case 
of the House of Refuge, a majority of the trustees are so appointed. 

All the reformatories receive occasional delinquents, who are 
sentenced for a definite term, though the most of their inmates are 
committed to the institutions until of age, the colored girls, at present, 
becoming free at eighteen, the others at twenty-one. 

Excepting the House of Eeformation for Colored Boys and St. Mary's 
Industrial- School, which admit none over sixteen years of age, boys 
and girls are received by the reformatories up to the age of majority ; 
but children committed when under eight are usually transferred to 
institutions for orphans. 

The total number of inmates of these reformatories upon the 30th 
of June, 1892, was reported as 1,239, but this number included the 
inmates of the House of the Good Shepherd, most of whom, either on 
account of their innocence upon the one hand or their age upon the 
other, do not strictly belong to the class of juvenile delinquents. 

With the exception of three-fourths of the inmates of the House of 
the Good Shepherd, a half-dozen boarders at the House of Eef uge and a 
somewhat larger number at St. Mary's Industrial School, it appears that 
all the inmates of these institutions have been sentenced or committed 
by process of law. About one-half of these were committed on the 
charge of incorrigibility brought against them usually by their parents 
or guardians. Of the other half the larger part were committed for 
vagrancy. A number have been convicted of larceny and various offences 
of a more serious nature, while a few have been committed to the care 
of the reform school on account of the cruelty of their parents or 
guardians. 

Although commitments may be caused by the fault of the parent as 
well as of the child, the moral restraint of home life even among the 
delinquent class is evidenced by the large proportion of orphans among 
the juvenile offenders. Only three institutions publish statistics upon 
this point — the House of Eef uge, the House of Eeformation, and the 
Female House of Eef uge. The last printed reports of these reformatories 
indicate respectively that 38, 63, and 68 per cent, of the committed 
youths had lost one or both parents. 

In the management of all the juvenile reformatories, the idea of 
punishment is entirely subordinated to that of education and the estab- 
lishment of moral character. About equal time is usually given to 
school work and manual labor — the latter being utilized for the partial 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 471 

support of the institution through contract work. Industrial training is 
also given to some extent in all the institutions. 

When sufficient training has been received and the inmate is deemed 
trustworthy, he is usually released on a ticket of leave or apprenticed 
with a suitable family under the oversight of the institution. Of these 
outside wards, still under the jurisdiction of the reformatories, the 
House of Eefuge reports two hundred and sixty-one ; St. Mary's Industrial 
School seven hundred and forty-five ; Female House of Eefuge fifteen, 
and the Industrial Home for Colored Girls sixty. After this general 
outline of the history and management of the juvenile reformatories, a 
few words will be added concerning the individual features of each 
institution. 

The House of Refuge occupies a massive stone building near the 
western limits of the city. The surrounding wall and the jail-like cells 
remind one of a prison, though the management of the institution is not 
punitive but thoroughly educational. 

The forenoon is occupied with work in the overall shops and else- 
where, while the afternoon is devoted to studies. The common English 
branches, including history and elementary physiology, are taught, and a 
good supply of current literature is provided for evening reading. 
Through a special appropriation of $10,000 by the Baltimore City 
Council, a Manual Training School was established in 1891, and an 
equipment provided for teaching wood work, metal work and printing. 
The interest shown by the boys in the manual training can leave no 
doubt of its value as a factor in reformatory work, and it is to be hoped 
that it will be sustained by regular appropriations. 

No boy is dismissed from the institution until a good home and 
suitable employment has been secured for him, and a special visiting 
agent is employed to look after the interests of the outside wards. 

St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys is located upon a fruitful 
farm of one hundred acres about a mile to the south from the House of 
Refuge. Compared with the House of Refuge, we find in this institution 
a larger number of boys, with a lower average age, many boys being 
committed because destitute rather than delinquent. A large five-story 
stone building provides dormitories, school-rooms and chapel, while the 
adjoining shops and green-house supplement the farm in furnishing 
manual employment for the boys. Knitting hose, tailoring, printing, 
carpentering and shoemaking are the industries in progress, in addition 
to the care of the farm and buildings. Much industrial training is thus 
secured, and the educational element in the manual labor is developed 
as far as the income of the institution will admit. Among the branches 
taught in the school-rooms we find history, physiology and book-keeping, 
and instruction in drawing is given to all the inmates. Vocal music is 



■172 MARYLAND. 

taught to a limited class and a large band is in training. When a boy is 
thought to be prepared to leave the school he is usually returned to his 
parents or provided with a suitable home in a private family, but many 
boys for whom such homes are not at hand continue under the care of 
the Xaverian Brothers in the St. James' Home for Boys, which has been 
mentioned as one of the homes for working boys. 

The House of Reformation for Colored, Boys is an interesting 
institution peculiar to the State of Maryland. A farm of eight hundred 
acres, forty-three miles to the south from Baltimore, forms the material 
environment of the reformatory and furnishes a large part of instructive 
employment which is needed. The most distinctive feature of this 
institution is the arrangement of buildings upon the family plan. In the 
place of one large dormitory five family buildings furnish accommoda- 
tions for fifty boys each. Each building contains a separate school- 
room, hospital, and play-room, and is under the immediate care of a 
teacher who resides in it. This plan permits of gradation, and the boys 
are stimulated by promotion from one building to another as they 
advance in proficiency. In addition to these brick family buildings, are 
several shops and a large administration building, one wing of which is 
occupied by the superintendent, while the other furnishes large dining- 
rooms where all the inmates of the institution take their meals. Four 
and one-half hours of the day are devoted to school work and the same 
length of time to manual labor. A stocking factory furnishes employ- 
ment for about one hundred and twenty of the younger boys, while 
carpentering, blacksmithing, baking, painting, tailoring, and shoemaking 
are some of the industries which occupy the older boys. Although none 
are received over sixteen years of age, the buildings are always crowded, 
and the lack of room often necessitates the dismissal of boys earlier 
than would otherwise be thought best. 

The Female House of Refuge, on Carey and Baker streets, shelters 
about seventy girls. Industry is the chief factor in the work of reforma- 
tion, and thirty-six sewing machines are kept busy all day making 
underwear for contractors. The net proceeds of the sewing-room amounted 
last year to nearly three thousand five hundred dollars. A record is kept 
of the work done by each inmate, and one-half of its proceeds is placed 
to her credit in a savings bank. The work of so large a household gives 
an opportunity for valuable industrial training, and a sewing teacher, as 
well as a school teacher, is employed. Girls who are considered trust- 
worthy are often placed out at service, though remaining under the 
control of the institution till of age. An auxiliary board of fifteen 
women assists in the management of the reformatory. 

The Industrial Home for Colored Girls is similar to the Female 
House of Refuge in purpose and methods. A new building has just been 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 473 

erected, which increases the capacity of the institution to one hundred 
and twenty-five and adds much to the comfort of the inmates. Making 
overalls is the chief remunerative industry. During the last year the 
girls earned about $5,000, of which $238 was placed to their credit for 
over-time work. Many of them, after receiving some training, are 
apprenticed out with good families on condition that they be well cared 
for and given twenty- five dollars and an outfit on reaching the age of 
eighteen. Such careful training is given the girls in all branches of 
housework that their services are always in demand in good homes as 
soon as they leave the institution. Whatever methods may be employed, 
the efficiency of a reformatory in really elevating the character of its 
inmates must depend largely upon the personal qualifications of those 
who are placed in charge, and the managers of the Industrial Home seem 
to have been fortunate in securing an unusually capable superintendent. 

The House of the Good Shepherd occupies a whole block in the 
western part of Baltimore, and, like many of the older Catholic institu- 
tions, is secluded from the outside world by a high brick wall. It is in 
part co-ordinate with the other reformatories for girls, though quite 
different in some of its features. There are three distinct departments — ■ 
the preservation department, the reformatory, and a community of Sister 
Magdalens. In the preservation department are about one hundred girls 
of all ages from four or five years to twenty or over. The preservation 
of innocence seems to be the leading purpose of this department. Most 
of the girls are brought here by their guardians or friends, though many 
are committed by the magistrates for vagrancy, destitution, or the want 
of proper home influences. The day is devoted chiefly to housework 
and sewing, while school work occupies the evening. 

The reformatory department is for girls and women who have 
committed some misdemeanor. A few girls are committed to this 
deparment, as to the other reformatories, till they reach the age of 
majority, but the most of the inmates are fallen women who are brought 
in by parents or friends, or who come voluntarily with the purpose of 
reforming. There is no age limit and many of the inmates are mature 
women. Sewing is the regular occupation. 

The Community of Magdalens is a sisterhood of thoroughly repent- 
ant women, who have chosen to spend the remainder of their lives in 
industry and religious devotion within the walls of the institution. 

The total income from the work of inmates of the institution for the 
last year was $18,748.43. 

The House of the Good Shepherd for Colored Girls is a branch of 
the older institution recently opened at Calverton Heights, near the 
western limits of the city. About thirty incorrigible colored girls have 



474 MARYLAND. 

been left under the charge of the sisters there, and the next Legislature 
is expected to recognize the institution as a public reformatory. 

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, who control these reformatories 
and similar institutions in all parts of the world, form a sisterhood 
which was organized for this purpose in 1642, and has its " mother 
house " at Angers, France. 

Another institution, which may be mentioned in connection with 
the House of the Good Shepherd, is The Home for fallen women, on 
Exeter street, where seventy unfortunate women have found shelter and 
religious influences during the past year. Residence in the home is 
entirely voluntary, and is often brief, but many are helped to a higher 
life. Industrial training is given, and honest employment is found for 
those who are ready to leave the home. 

The Helping-up Mission at Arch and Baltimore streets is doing 
reformatory work among the same class of women in West Baltimore. 



Continuing from the juvenile and voluntary reformatories we come 
to a class of institutions which have but recently taken on the character 
of charities, and are still commonly regarded as means for vengeance 
rather than for charitable effort. For the true position of prisons does 
not appear till we come to recognize on the one hand that it is truer 
charity to upbuild men than to indulge them, and on the other hand 
that the most efficient punishment is that which reforms the offender. 

In Maryland, as in other States, the treatment of adult offenders is 
far behind this conception of the purpose of punishment, for it is the 
character of the past crime, instead of the progress of the reformation, 
that determines the time when the prisoner shall be released. Yet while 
much remains to be accomplished in the improvement of criminal law 
and practice, the principle of reformation, as applied to adults, as well 
as to minors, has been recognized in the general laws of Maryland, as 
well as in the management of the individual prisons. Especially a law 
passed in 1876 allowing a commutation for good behavior of four days 
from each month of a sentenced term of imprisonment is said to have 
given excellent results. In the treatment of criminals while enduring 
confinement, their reformation is constantly held in view. 

There are now three prisons that receive adult criminals from the 
courts of Baltimore- — the Baltimore City Jail, the House of Correction 
and the Maryland Penitentiary. The first is supported and controlled by 
the city, while the two others are State institutions. Of the fourteen 
hundred prisoners confined in these three institutions almost one-half 
are colored (though the colored population of the State is only one- 
fourth of the white) ; and about ten per cent, are women. The white race 



CHAEITIES AND CORRECTION. 475 

predominates in the jail, while a large majority of the penitentiary 
convicts and of the female inmates of all the prisons are colored. Among 
these prisoners are always a number of minors, who have been committed 
to these institutions because they were deemed unsuitable for the juvenile 
reformatories, or because the reformatories were too full to receive them. 

All these prisons are under capable and progressive management. 
The management of the Penitentiary especially, receives very high 
praise from recognized authorities upon the subject of penology. Indus- 
try everywhere prevails, cruelty or neglect is not tolerated, and all gross 
abuses have been removed. Except at the House of Correction, the 
women are confined in buildings by themselves. Moral and religious 
influences are brought to bear upon the prisoners, and the officers in 
charge make reformation the object of their efforts. In the way of 
economic management little more could be asked, for the total expense 
per capita for the last year was but $114.22 for the Jail, $105 for the 
House of Correction, and $119.08 for the Penitentiary, and a large part of 
this expense was met by the work of the inmates. Although an abund- 
ance of good nourishing food is given, the average daily cost for food is 
reported at seven and two- third cents for the Jail, five and one-fourth 
cents for the House of Correction and seven and one-fourth cents for the 
Penitentiary. 

The Jail of Baltimore City is an imposing stone building lying to 
the east of Jones' Falls. From ten to eleven thousand men and women 
are committed to this institution each year; about three-fourths of them 
are imprisoned for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The average 
daily population for the year 1891 was four .hundred and ninety-seven ; 
for the year 1892, four hundred and sixty-seven. This decrease is 
assigned by the Warden to the action of a new law respecting the "drunk 
and disorderly" cases which commits them, in default of the payment of 
fine, for only seven days for the first offence, with an increasing term for 
subsequent commitments within a period of sixty days. Since 1889, one 
hundred of the prisoners have been employed under contract in a basket 
factory, while the others are utilized to a large extent in making repairs 
and doing the routine work of the institution. 

The House of Correction is a State prison for short-term offenders 
where the idleness of the county jails is replaced by hard work. The 
recognized need of such a prison led to an appropriation in 1874, of 
$250,000 for its establishment, and the institution was opened at Jessup's, 
Anne Arundel county, in 1879. The average population of the prison is 
about two hundred and seventy-five. The brevity of the terms of 
imprisonment interferes with the best results from the labor of the 
convicts, but an income of about $9,000 from contract work is reported 
for last year. Chair-caning and covering demijohns are the present 



476 MARYLAND. 

employments, but it is expected that more important industries will soon 
be introduced. 

The Maryland Penitentiary is the State prison for long-term 
offenders. It is located in the heart of the city, adjoining the Baltimore 
Jail. Little of it can be seen from the street except a high wall with 
pavilions for watchmen. Within we find a well-organized industrial 
establishment, in which each inmate is assigned a place suited to his 
strength and capacity. Out of an average population of 652 about eighty 
are assigned to the various tasks which the maintenance of so large an 
institution requires, while an average of 569 are employed by contractors. 
In order to suit the varying capacity of the different convicts three lines 
of manufacturing are conducted within the prison walls, comprising a 
hollow- ware foundry, marble works and a boot and shoe manufactory. 
The prisoners remain under the supervision of the warden, and the best 
discipline prevails. The proceeds from the contract labor amounted last 
year to over seventy-nine thousand dollars, and more than paid the 
entire expense of maintaining the prison. After the regular day's labor 
of eight hours has been completed an opportunity is given for over-time 
work, and the earnings are placed to the credit of the prisoner. The 
amount thus gained by the prisoners during the year ending November 
30, 1892, was $10,208.51. Prisoners may draw upon their earnings for the 
support of families outside or may allow the account to accumulate till 
they are discharged. The Bertillon system of measurements for the 
identification of criminals has been recently introduced. 

COUNTY JAILS. 

It may be doubted whether the county jails should be treated under 
the heading of '' Reformation of Delinquents," for it must be acknowl- 
edged that but few criminals are freed from their evil purposes by 
confinement in the jails. Yet the county jails have felt the wave of 
reform, and none of the gross abuses which were common fifteen years 
ago are now tolerated. The sexes are completely separated, the insane 
are removed to asylums, and children are sent to reformatories. 

Each of the twenty-three counties has a jail located at the county 
seat. The aggregate cost of these jails as reported for the World's Fair 
charts was $351,968. The aggregate average number of inmates was 
reported at 249. The jails at Cumberland, Easton, Frederick and Elkton, 
may be mentioned as especially well constructed and managed. The 
management of the jails is vested in the sheriffs of the respective 
counties, though in about one-half the counties the sheriff appoints a 
warden to have immediate control of the building and prisoners. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 477 

AID FOE PRISONERS. 

As stated at the opening of the chapter, a large share of the advance- 
ment which Maryland has made in penal and reformatory methods has 
been due to the influence of the Maryland Prisoners' Aid Association, 
a private association supported by annual subscriptions, but recognized 
by law and given full powers of visitation in respect to all the penal 
institutions of the State. But, while much is done in behalf of prison 
reform, the work of the association is primarily with the prisoner rather 
than with the prison. Its objects are concisely stated in a circular 
as follows : 

" To afford prisoners moral and religious instruction. 

" To furnish them with Bibles and other elevating literature. 

" To teach the illiterate how to read and write. 

" To furnish discharged prisoners with necessary clothing and tools, 
and, when possible, with employment. 

" To send those living out of the city to their homes. 

" To visit the sick or impoverished families of prisoners and to supply 
their immediate needs." 

The agent of the Association, an ordained minister, is constantly 
engaged in this work of reclamation. One or more of the prisons is 
visited every day for personal interviews with prisoners, and religious 
services are conducted every Sunday. Frequent visits are made to the 
reformatories also, and to the county jails and almshouses. But it is at 
the critical time when a man regains his freedom that the friendly help 
of the Prisoners' Aid Association is most needed. The acquaintance 
which has been gained during the term of imprisonment gives mutual 
confidence, and very many ex-convicts have thus been started in an honest 
course, which they have followed for the remainder of their lives. 

THE PREVENTION OF VICE AND CRIME. 

Another chapter has described the chief factor in the suppression of 
evil through the cultivation of higher motives — the Christian Church. 
The Police Department also, which may be regarded as the chief out- 
ward factor in the prevention of crime, does not come within the scope 
of this chapter, and the work of the Society for the Protection of 
Children, of the orphanages, and of the reformatories and prisons, which 
aim to be preventive as well as curative, is spoken of elsewhere, yet a 
few other societies remain for our consideration under this head. 

The Society for the Suppression of Vice of Baltimore City has 
been actively at work since 1888 in securing better laws for the promo- 
tion of the moral well-being of the community, and especially in 
gaining the enforcement of existing laws respecting the liquor traffic, 
gambling, and indecent writings and pictures. 



478 MARYLAND. 

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Maryland is carry- 
ing on the same warfare with social evils, which characterizes its activity 
in other States and countries. The State building, costing about $30,000, 
is located at No. 8 South Gay street, where a free kindergarten, mothers' 
meetings, and other lines of social work are carried on. A branch of 
this organization, known as the Memorial Union for Preventive and 
Rescue WorTc, was formed in 1890 for the protection of homeless girls. 
Such girls are provided with a temporary home, and employment is 
found for them. In pursuit of the rescue work members of the Union 
visit the railway stations, police stations and the city jail, and a com- 
mittee is appointed for visiting the homes of the very poor in the 
interests of destitute children. 

The temporary Home for Immigrant Girls, recently opened at Locust 
Point by the Methodist deaconesses, should be mentioned here, as well as 
the work of the Daughters in Israel, already described. 

The Hebrew Friendly Inn, on East Lombard street, also provides a 
free temporary home for large numbers of immigrants, both men and 
women, and the Port Mission Home for Seamen, opened in 1892 on 
Thames street, offers religious surroundings to sailors while in port. 
The Home is supported in part by charity, though the payment of board 
is expected. 

Several other religious societies are combating the evil influences of 
the city by purely religious work combined with more concrete forms of 
charity. The Baltimore Female City Mission has been actively at 
work since 1865. Five agents are employed who visit destitute homes, 
distribute food and clothing, and secure employment for some who are 
out of work. The annual report speaks of closing five saloons and 
houses of ill-fame. 

The Rescue Association of Baltimore City, formerly known as the 
Free Sunday Breakfast Association, is continuing the work among home- 
less men, which was begun by its president, Mr. Blackburn, in 1890. 
During the winter coffee was served every evening in the chapel of the 
old Associate Beformed Church, on Fayette street. Following this 
refreshment was a religious meeting, with an average attendance of 
about one hundred destitute men, and during the cold weather large 
numbers took advantage of the privilege granted them of sleeping upon 
the bare floor of the hall. In order to keep the converts under helpful 
influence, Bescue Home was opened for their accommodation at No. 109 
Marsh Market Space. The inmates of this Home, from thirty to forty 
in number, either pay their board or obtain tickets which are paid for by 
others. 

Plans have been formed for moving the mission work to Market 
Space, and introducing an industrial feature as a help toward the redemp- 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 479 

tion of those who are looking upward, and also as a work test for trying 
the motives of applicants for relief. A building has been leased (June, 
1893,) for this purpose at the corner of Market Space and Hawk street. 

An organization has been formed recently for maintaining an 
Industrial Rome for Women, with a view to placing vagrants in the 
way of self-support. The home has been opened at No. 706 West Lombard 
street. 

Important factors in lessening the influences of saloons are the 
numerous Free Reading Rooms and Club Rooms conducted by religious 
societies. Seven of these are supported by the Young Men's Christian 
Association. Among the others mention may be made of Hope Institute, 
already spoken of, the People's Institute, managed by the Memorial 
Presbyterian Church; the Port Mission Reading Room for sailors, at 
815 south Broadway; another reading room, similar in purpose, recently 
opened on Aliceanna street, by the Seamen's Union Bethel Society; the 
Newsboys' and Bootblacks' Club Rooms at No. 218 East Baltimore street, 
and Emmanuel House, recently opened, (April 4, 1893), on Calvert street, 
where, in connection with the free reading rooms, meals and lodgings are 
furnished at a low rate. 

The most recent movement for the improvement of social conditions 
in Baltimore resulted in the organization, on the 19th of June, 1893, of 
The Union for Public Good, having for its purpose " to promote the 
good government, health and prosperity of the City of Baltimore, to 
secure useful and prevent injurious legislation affecting its interests, to 
correct public scandals, grievances and abuses, to restrain all forms of 
vice and immorality, and to encourage the co-operation of individuals 
and existing societies aiming to advance these ends." It is organized as a 
union of societies, and every congregation or society having for its object 
the moral or social improvement of the community, is invited to become 
affiliated to the Union, and to be represented at its meetings. 

THE MANAGEMENT OF TRAMPS AND BEGGARS. 

Short-sighted generosity has interfered somewhat with the successful 
treatment of these social parasites, though stringent laws have been 
passed for the suppression of vagrancy. However, begging in public 
places is now confined for the most part to the blind or crippled who 
offer pencils or matches for sale, or present some other form of exchange. 

Tramps in large numbers spend the winter months in the city alms- 
houses, where about one-fourth the inmates are people who, according to 
their own report, had lived in Baltimore less than six months. At the 
station houses of the police department 20,611 free lodgings were given 
to tramps in 1892 ; and throughout the State, but especially in the northern 
counties, many of these vagrants find free accommodations at the alms- 



480 MARYLAND. 

houses and jails. During the past winter, however, this evil has been 
greatly relieved in Carroll, Frederick, and some other counties by 
requiring all tramps to earn their maintenance by working on the roads. 
"Within the city the Free Sunday Breakfast Association, as already 
stated, has been trying to restore this class of men to useful lives through 
charity and religious conversion, while the Friendly Inn, on South Sharp 
street, aims to remove the necessity of free lodgings, with their pauper- 
izing tendencies, by granting meals and lodgings in return for work in a 
wood yard. Fifteen cents in cash, or an order from some subscriber who 
pays the bill, is accepted in place of the labor. During the last fiscal 
year 18,669 lodgings were furnished, of which 10,235 were worked out. 
Though contrary to the designs of the institution, some forty or fifty 
men have hitherto made this their home for the winter. The others 
usually remain but a few days, and in the summer the building is nearly 
empty. A laundry and free shower baths secure outward cleanliness for 
the inmates, and religious meetings are held for their spiritual regenera- 
tion. The management of the institution has been improving for some 
time, and it seems destined to become the chief factor in the solution of 
the tramp question for the city. 

THE RELIEF OF WANT AND PREVENTION OF PAUPERISM. 

The idle and shiftless pauper, who has given up all effort toward 
self-support, and is watchful only for largesses, is everywhere recognized 
as a menace to the welfare of society. If he does not himself fall into 
dissipation and crime, his children are pretty sure to do so, and the total 
effect of his life is to place a brake upon social progress. It is not with- 
out justification, then, that the prevention of pauperism is made 
co-ordinate with the relief of immediate distress as a leading object of 
charitable effort. The rendering of aid to the needy may be prompted 
simply by the spirit of humanity, but it is ultimately justified by its 
effect in giving strength and courage for renewed effort and higher 
attainment. The problem of pure relief, however, is made difficult by 
the fact that alms, when carelessly given, do not always strengthen the 
recipient, but are quite as likely to weaken his moral nature and induce 
him to exchange self-help for parasitism. 

This difficulty is now recognized to some extent by all the relief- 
giving societies of Maryland, and, while many distributing agencies are 
doubtless too careless in their methods, all are at least striving to prevent 
pauperism by giving the aid that will be truly helpful. 

A leading motive in much of the work already described is the 
prevention of pauperism. This is especially true of the Electric Sewing 
Machine Rooms, and the other educational charities. The charities 
which remain to be treated under this heading fall, for the most part 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 481 

into three groups, having for their main purpose respectively, the secur- 
ing of work for the unemployed, the encouragement of provident habits, 
and the granting of needed relief. This classification leaves the Charity 
Organization Society for treatment by it self. 

In the first group belongs the Women's Industrial Exchange, on 
Charles street, where any needy woman may enter her work for sale, 
subject to the rules of the Exchange. A large business is done in all 
kinds of sewing, but the most lucrative branch of work is the cooking. 
A lunch room is connected with the exchange, from which the receipts 
amounted last year to $6,489, while the receipts in the store exceeded 
nineteen thousand dollars. 

The Decorative Art Society offers similar advantages for the sale 
of meritorious work in the line of painting, designing, and embroidery. 
Instruction is given in these branches of art, and a number of free scholar- 
ships are granted. 

Among the important helps in the prevention of pauperism are the 
Employment Bureaus. The private bureaus, which are managed for 
profit, deal successfully with applicants who are efficient and have good 
recommendations, but the indigent, the inefficient, and the wayward 
need more personal attention than the commercial bureaus find profit- 
able to bestow, and, as a result, many fees are paid in vain by those who 
are most in need. Only charitable effort can meet this difficulty fully, 
and a large number of the societies described in this chapter devote some 
attention to finding employment for their beneficiaries. This feature 
has been recently introduced by the " Poor Association," and the Electric 
Sewing Machine Rooms. The German Society, the Young Men's 
Christian Association and the Young Women's Christian Association 
have regular employment bureaus, the last-named society charging fifty 
cents to employers only. But the chief agency for finding employment 
for the needy is the Charity Organization Society, whose work will be 
considered later. 

Among the agencies for encouraging provident habits among the 
poor, mention should be made of the Thomas Wilson Fuel-Saving 
Society, an endowed charity, having for its object: "To encourage those 
who have but little money, to lay by small sums during the summer for 
the purchase of coal in the winter at reduced rates, and to aid women 
in the purchase of sewing machines upon easy terms of payment." 
Payments of any amount above five cents are accepted from eligible 
applicants, and when full payment has been made for coal it will be 
delivered in loads of one-quarter ton or more, at the rate of five dollars 
a ton. Sewing machines are delivered before full payment has been 
made, but are subject to recall. 

31 



482 MARYLAND. 

The Provident Savings Bank, though organized upon a paying basis, 
was started by charitable people and designed to better the condition of 
the poor. The stamp-card system is in use, through which deposits may 
be made in amounts as low as five cents. In order to extend the benefits 
of the institution, some fifty agencies for the sale of the deposit stamps 
have been established, mostly at drug stores; and eleven branch offices, 
nine in the city, one at Sparrow's Point, and one in Cecil county, are 
opened at least once a week for withdrawals and the reception of the larger 
deposits. At the Central Office, on the corner of Howard and Franklin 
streets, a regular savings bank business is done. 

Public Outdoor Relief is confined in Baltimore to an appropriation 
of $1,000 for the transportation of indigent people to their homes or 
friends in other places. Only about three-fourths of this appropriation 
was expended last year. 

Outside of the city, however, an extensive system of outdoor relief 
prevails in the form of Pensions from the County Treasuries. The 
rule, in some of the counties at least, is to grant a pension to anyone who 
gets five freeholders to certify that he is not able fully to support himself 
by his own efforts. According to the reports received from county 
officers nearly 2,800 people are receiving these pensions, varying much in 
amount, but averaging $17.20 each. Allegany county alone grants no 
pensions. 

Aside from the free transportation, the nearest approach to public 
out-door relief in Baltimore is found in the private contributions dis- 
tributed to the poor through the Police Department. Two-thirds (in 
value) of the contributions are in cash, but all are distributed in the 
form of provisions, fuel and clothing, or of orders upon the dealers in 
those supplies. The supplies are dealt out at the police stations on the 
orders of the patrolmen, the guaranty against harmful subsidies being 
the personal acquaintance of the patrolmen with the poor people upon 
their respective beats. During the year 1892, distributions were made in 
this way to the amount of $4,516. But during the brief period from 
January 1 to March 3, 1893, no less than $16,297 was given out through 
this agency. 

The exceptionally severe weather of the past winter interrupted 
many of the industries, especially the oyster dredging, which usually 
employ thousands of men during the winter months. Destitute men 
flocked to the city in great numbers, and the resulting distress called 
forth an unprecedented wave of charity. In addition to the relief given 
through the Police Department and extra work done by all the relief- 
giving societies of the city, eight or nine stations were opened for serving 
free soup to the hungry poor. For this purpose the Winter Relief 
Association was organized. Eight two-barrel soup caldrons were pur- 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 483 

chased and located at five stations, where, within the month from January 
16 to February 16, nearly 25,000 gallons of soup were made with a total 
cost of $1,316. The soup was served once a day, and during a part of the 
month as many as 6,000 persons were supplied. The number of applicants 
was reduced by instituting an investigation of each case, and gradually 
fell away to one hundred and sixty-five on the 16th of February, when 
the distribution ceased. 

Returning from this special flood of relief to the permanent stream 
of charitable effort, we find in Baltimore as many as twenty societies 
which, in addition to the church charities, are supplying poor people 
with food, fuel and clothing by an annual expenditure of about eighty 
thousand dollars. 

Of these societies the leading one is the Baltimore Association for 
the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor, whose origin and purpose 
have already been described. The chief work of this association is, at 
present, the direct relief of the poor by supplying them with fuel and 
groceries. Of the $18,600 thus expended during the last fiscal year, about 
$7,400 was spent for fuel, distributed in the winter only, $6,300 for groceries 
provisions, etc., and $4,900 for operating expenses. The association is 
.supported chiefly and managed by annual subscribers under a thorough 
organization. For the better administration of the charity the city is 
divided into four districts, in each of which is an office of the association 
and a paid agent, who investigates all cases of want reported within his 
district, and attends to the distribution of the relief. The agents become 
acquainted with the recipients of their charity, and thus not only avoid 
much wasteful and harmful giving, but also, to some extent, uplift the 
poor by their personal influence. 

In order to increase this element of personal contact, a system of 
friendly visiting like that of the Charity Organization Society was 
introduced last year; or, rather revived, for in former years the entire 
work since intrusted to paid agents was done by volunteer visitors. The 
visitors for each district are appointed by the President. The new 
system proved especially successful in the northeastern district, where 
about twenty visitors, mostly women, are at work, each having about a 
dozen families assigned to her care. As in the German system of poor 
relief, all the families of a given locality are assigned to one visitor. 

The other relief-giving societies must be passed with but few' words 
concerning each. Nearly all of the first group are religious societies 
and many are denominational, though their charity usually extends 
beyond the bounds of the denomination which supports them. A second 
group of societies observe the lines of nationality and grant relief to 
those who are bound by the ties of a common fatherland or a common 
ancestry. i 



484 MARYLAND. 

The Young Catholics' Friend Society assists several hundred Catholic 
children with clothing and instruction, and manages the Dolan Children's 
Aid Asylum. 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, of Baltimore, is a branch of a 
general Roman Catholic organization having its centre in Paris. The 
primary object of the society, as stated by its president, is the sanctifi- 
cation of its members through sympathetic work in behalf of the needy. 
Thirteen conferences of the society are connected with the Catholic 
churches of the city, and are actively engaged in visiting and relieving 
the poor, and extending the influence of religion over the lives of the 
destitute and wayward. One conference is located at Cumberland, Md., 
and under the central council of Baltimore are thirty-three other confer- 
ences located at Washington and in the other South Atlantic States. 

The Ladies' Special Belief Association of South Baltimore is doing 
an important work in its locality. The poor are visited and given 
general relief. 

The Order of the King's Daughters has over one hundred circles in 
Baltimore and the counties, and nearly all are engaged in some charitable 
work. 

The Friends' Lombard Street Benevolent Society, an incorporated 
society connected with the Park Avenue Meeting, has a visiting committee 
of twenty members who work among the poor, giving clothing and other 
relief which the Society supplies. 

Many similar societies are connected with the different churches in 
Baltimore and all parts of the State. 

The Society for the Belief of Widows and Orphans of Seamen, 
organized in 1827 and incorporated in 1893, is connected with the Sea- 
men's Union Bethel. Twenty-five or thirty needy widows of seamen are 
pensioned during the winter months. 

The Charitable Marine Society, incorporated in 1796, pensions 
needy widows and orphans of deceased members, and relieves members 
who have suffered from shipwreck or otherwise. 

The Beneficial Association of the Maryland Line grants relief to 
ex-Confederate soldiers, according to the discretion of the visiting 
committee. The funds for this purpose are derived principally from 
annuities purchased with the proceeds of " The Confederate Bazaar," 
held some ten or twelve years ago.* 

Many other beneficial societies grant relief to members and their 
families. 

Intermediate between the religious and the national societies are 
the Hebrew organizations. 

*The fund derived from this bazaar, amounting- at the time to $31,000, is administered by the Army 
and Navy Soc, ' 1 the C. S. A., in the State of Maryland. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 485 

The Hebrew Benevolent Society has a membership of seven or eight 
hundred annual subscribers, and during the last year expended $2L,411 in 
various forms of relief for the poor. The city is divided into six 
districts, in each of which are three managers who investigate the appli- 
cations from their respective neighborhoods. A banquet is held every 
year at which large sums are contributed, in addition to the regular 
membership dues. 

The Hebrew Ladies' Sewing Society is associated with the preceding 
organization, though under entirely distinct management. Clothing, 
shoes, and provisions are given in large quantities. 

Since July, 1890, over eighteen thousand dollars have been expended 
by the Baltimore committee of the Baron de Hirsch Fund for the relief 
of Hebrew immigrants. The report of this committee for the ten months 
from July, 1892, to May, 1893, is as follows : 

32 Taught trades and established in business $ 631 50 

11 Supplied with tools 160 46 

40 Supplied with furniture and goods 533 06 

389 Transported 2,379 32 

To the English night schools 970 00 

Agent's salary, sundries, and office expenses 681 84 

Total - $5,356 18 

The German Society of Maryland is the most distinctively chari- 
table as well as the largest of the national societies. Over five thousand 
dollars are annually expended in the relief of the poor, and an experienced 
agent is employed to administer the charity and investigate all applica- 
tions for aid. Relief is given chiefly in the form of money, medical 
treatment, or employment. Work was found for three hundred and 
thirty-three persons during the last year. 

The founders of St. Andrew's Society, which was organized in 1806, 
expressed the motive of the organization in the following language* : 

" When people fall into misfortune in any part of the world, remote 
from the place of their nativity, it is natural for them to make their 
distress known to those originally from the same country ; the presump- 
tion in this case is, that the love of the native soil, which is inseparable 
from every human breast, will make their countrymen more ready than 
others to administer to their relief, and that possibly some maybe found 
among them with whom they are connected by blood, or who know 
something of their relatives. 

" For these reasons the natives of Scotland and those descended of 
Scotch parentage, in the city of Baltimore, have formed themselves into 
a charitable society, the principal design of which is to raise and keep a 
sum of money in readiness for the above benevolent purpose." 

* Report of St. Andrew's Society for 1892. 



486 



MARYLAND. 



The same motive, together with, the desire to promote social inter- 
course, led to the formation of St. George's Society of Baltimore, for the 
relief of indigent natives of England, Wales and the British colonies; 
the Hibernian Society of Baltimore, for the assistance of emigrants 
from Ireland; and the Societe Francaise de Bienfaisance de Baltimore, 
for the relief of needy French people who may be in the city. St. 
Andrew's Society has permanent investments valued at $35,616, and the 
Hibernian Society, which was founded as early as 1803, has charge of a 
fund of $25,000, bequeathed by John Oliver in 1826 for the support of a 
free school. The fund is used in maintaining an evening school for boys. 

The long list of independent charities working in the same field, 
each with but partial regard to the work of the others, suggested the 
need of a central organizing bureau where the work of the different 
societies might be recorded, duplications and deficiencies revealed, and 
the efficacy of all increased. Such was the leading motive in the estab- 
lishment, twelve years ago, of the Charity Organization Society ; but, 
like the associations bearing the same name in other cities, the Charity 
Organization Society of Baltimore has developed many lines of beneficent 
activity in addition to the work of co-ordinating charities. Under the 
head of "objects" we find the following statement in the last annual 
report : 

The specific objects arid methods of the Charity Organization Society shall include: 

1. The promotion of cordial co-operation between the municipal authorities, benevo- 
lent societies, churches and individuals, thus effectually checking the evils of overlapping 
of relief caused by simultaneous but independent action. 

2. Such a system of visiting and inquiry as shall insure an accurate knowledge of the 
condition of each applicant for relief. 

3. A careful system of registration that shall make the results of these inquiries 
available to all. 

4. The application of correctional influences to all able but unwilling to work ; the 
placing of all unable to work in institutions or homes ; and the counteraction of hereditary 
pauperism by wholesome educational influences for the young. 

5. The prevention of imposture by duplication or otherwise, and the exposure of 
habitual beggars and frauds. 

6. Employment or other suitable relief for all deserving applicants. 

7. The organization of a body of friendly visitors, who shall, by faithful personal 
interest and sympathy, gradually build up habits of industry, saving, and self-control among 
the less fortunate, thus preserving and elevating the home. 

8. The provision of temporary employment as a work-test, and the promotion of 
industrial education. 

9. The collection and diffusion of knowledge on all subjects connected with the 
administration of charity, and the maintenance of a free library of information on these 
subjects. 

The equipment for the accomplishment of these objects consists in 
( 1) a central office, where the general secretary and several assistants are 
engaged in the general management of the society, keeping complete 
records of all the cases helped by the society or reported from other 
societies, and attending to transient applicants for relief ; and (2) seven 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 487 

branch offices, each, of which is a centre of organized personal work in 
behalf of the poor within its district. In each district is a paid agent, who 
may be found at the district office for consultation during certain hours, 
but who spends rnost of the day in investigating new cases, visiting old 
ones and doing whatever he can to secure the true welfare of the poor. 
As assistants to the agents there are in all two hundred and forty-three 
volunteer visitors, to each of whom is assigned at least one needy family 
for his continued personal care. The visitors of each district meet 
weekly for discussing the varied questions which arise, and deciding 
what action should be taken in individual cases. This board of visitors, 
especially its chairman and case committee, oversees the work of the 
agent as well as that of the volunteers. 

Realizing that careless almsgiving does no more than mollify, and 
often even aggravates the evil which it aims to relieve, the Charity 
Organization Society asks the co-operation of all charitable people, so 
that, after careful investigation, the relief may be made efficient and 
adequate. The causes and conditions of distress are found to be so 
variable that the form of relief best adapted to the conditions must be 
separately decided for each case. Any pressing want, such as the lack of 
food, is at once relieved on the first visit of the agent, and then the more 
difficult task of removing the cause of the distress is undertaken. In 
many cases employment is all that is needed, but more often some 
weakness in the character, perhaps merely laziness, has to be contended 
with. Others need industrial training, hospital treatment, legal advice, 
or sometimes simply encouragement and sympathy. For supplying the 
most of these and countless other needs the personal, active friendship 
of the agent and the visitor is the main reliance.* 

The Charity Organization Society does not aim to give direct relief 
in money or commodities, but a small fund is provided for emergencies, 
loans and other cases. When continued financial aid is thought advisable 
it is obtained by interesting some charitable individual, church, or society 
in the case. 

Something of the scope of the Society's work, as well as its recent 
increase, is indicated by the following statistics : 

Six months Twelve mouths 

Ending April 1, 1893. Ending Nov. 1, 1893. 

Total applications 7,164 7,769 

Aid procured for ...2,260 2,004 

Employment found for 1,055 1,047 

Loans made to 47 56 

Transportation obtained for 51 77 

Placed in institutions 76 125 

Impostors exposed 175 311 

False addresses discovered 191 290 

Visits made to the homes of the poor by 

friendly visitors and agents 8,239 10,935 

♦Both men and women act as volunteer visitors. All but one of the agents are women. 



488 MARYLAND. 

A new quarterly publication — the Charities Record — -is published by 
the Society as an exponent of the charitable work uf Baltimore.* 

Among the relief-giving societies in the counties of Maryland 
mention may be made of the Charity Organization Society of Cumber- 
land, which has been established during the past year for the more 
efficient treatment of dependents and mendicants in that city, and the 
Charity Society of Annapolis, which is dealing with the same problems 
at the Capital of the State. 

MEDICAL AND SANITARY RELIEF. 

The special medical and sanitary relief for children has already 
been described. 

Public activity for the prevention of sickness and disease is chiefly 
manifested in the Health Department of the city government. The 
principal lines of work undertaken are : (1) the collection of vital 
statistics; (2) investigating and abating nuisances dangerous to health; 
(3) the removal of filth; (4) the inspection of plumbing and drains ; (5) 
the maintenance of a quarantine station and hospital ; (6) vaccination 
against small-pox; (7) the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases 
through isolation and disinfection, and (8) the maintenance of a morgue 
and two public cemeteries. 

Through the activity of the Baltimore News, aided by the chemists 
of Johns Hopkins University, public attention has been called (May, 
1893,) to the deficient quality of much of the milk sold in the city, and 
the Health Department has undertaken the inspection of milk and dairies 
within the city limits. 

With this exception the inspection of food products is left to the 
State Board of Health. This board is doing valuable work throughout 
the State in exposing unsanitary conditions and suggesting the proper 
remedies. The inspection of dairies in the suburbs of Baltimore is now 
being carried on with vigor. 

A number of charitable societies are also aiming to improve the 
general health of their beneficiaries rather than to cure diseases. For 
this purpose the Free Summer Excursion Society was organized in 1875. 
Picnic grounds are owned at Chesterwood, on the Patapsco river, to 
which about 15,000 women and children are taken each year upon day 
excursions. Free bathing privileges and two free meals are supplied. 

St. Lukeland is the name of a summer sanitarium near Catonsville, 
owned and managed by the Hospital Relief Association. During the last 
season seventy-two women and girls were given the advantage of two 
weeks of needed rest and recuperation. 

*The first number is for May, 1893. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 489 

The Fresh Air Fund of the Young Women's Christian Association 
assisted one hundred and sixty-nine working girls to a fortnight's vaca- 
tion in the country, or at the seashore, by paying transportation or board ; 
and an association of young women, known as the Co-operative Workers, 
have provided a summer home where self-supporting girls may enjoy a 
two-weeks' vacation in the mountains at small expense. Vacation Lodge, 
the new home owned by this Society, was opened at Blue Kidge Summit 
June 8, 1893. 

DISPENSARIES AND HOSPITALS. 

For the treatment of the sick and injured Baltimore is provided 
with twenty-four hospitals and as many dispensaries, and one hospital is 
located in Cumberland. 

The dispensaries are for the most part simply free out-patient 
departments of the hospitals, and need not be mentioned separately. A 
number, however, are independent, deriving their support jointly from 
contributions, small investments, and city appropriations. To this class 
belong the Baltimore General Dispensary, established in 1801, the 
Eastern, Northeastern and Southern Dispensaries. 

The Homceopathic Dispensary, on Greene street, has been one of 
the most active, but is now (June, 1893,) closed. Perhaps the most 
progressive of these agencies of relief is the Evening Dispensary for 
Working Women and Girls, on South Charles street, organized and 
conducted by women physicians. 

At nearly all the dispensaries treatment is given free of charge, 
though, nominally, at least, to those only who are unable to pay. To 
avoid the pauperizing tendency of free treatment the Johns Hopkins 
Dispensary and the Evening Dispensary for Women usually make a charge 
of ten cents for treatment, or, as respects the Evening Dispensary, of 
twenty-five cents for treatment and prescription. As a rule, treatment is 
given at the dispensaries only, though a number of the organizations 
extend their services also to the homes of the indigent sick. 

Three of these hospitals are under public control — the United States 
Marine Hospital, supported by the federal government for the care of 
American seamen ; the Quarantine Hospital, supported by the city at the 
quarantine station, twelve miles down the bay; and the old quarantine, 
or Pest Hospital, which occupies a valuable piece of land four miles from 
the city*. The City Council has appropriated $8,000 for the erection of a 
steam disinfecting plant at the quarantine station, and also $45,000 
($10,000 for the site), for a more available Hospital for the Treatment of 
Infectious Diseases. 

*The medical and surgical department of the Bay View Almshouse constitutes another free 
hospital under city control. 



490 MARYLAND. 

The otlier hospitals are under private control, though eight of them 
are aided by the support of two hundred and seventy-five beds at $3.25 
:per week on the part of the city, and six of them receive appropriations 
from the State. Two are special hospitals for lying-in women, and two 
are for the treatment of the eye, ear, and throat only. All the general 
hospitals receive both pay and free patients, usually in about equal 
numbers. To pay patients the charge, including board, medical attendance 
and nursing, ranges from three to thirty-five dollars per week. 

Seven of these are connected with the seven medical schools of 
Baltimore. The Hospital of Baltimore University and the Maryland 
HomcBopatliic Hospital are explained by their names. The Hospital of 
the Good Samaritan is connected with the Woman's Medical College, 
and the Maryland General Hospital with the Baltimore Medical 
College. 

The Maryland University Hospital, on Lombard street, was estab- 
lished in 1823, and has maintained a training school for nurses since 
1889. Under the same university is a free lying-in hospital, with a 
training school for nurses in obstetrics. 

The City Hospital, on Calvert street, is connected with the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons, though it is owned and managed by the 
Sisters of Mercy. One hundred free beds are supported by the city, and 
they, with about as many others, are always full. Many accident cases 
are received from the railways and factories, and the dispensary is open 
day and night for their treatment. 

Much more might well be said concerning the good work of these 
hospitals, but a wider interest attaches to the one which we come to 
next — the Jolms Hopkins Hospital, doubtless, upon the whole, the 
leading institution of the kind in America. Mr. Henry C. Burdett, in 
his great work upon the Hospitals and Asylums of the "World,* introduces 
a detailed description of this institution with the following words : 
" Seldom, if ever, has a hospital been started on its career of usefulness 
with such deliberate care, such wise forethought, such self-sacrificing 
search after the best way, as have been devoted to the institution now to 
be described." The income from the endowment (the endowment now 
amounts to about three and one-third millions of dollars) was placed at 
the disposal of the trustees in 1873, and their activity began at once. 
Several years were devoted to perfecting the plan, and the utmost care 
was given to every detail of the construction, so that when the institution 
was opened in 1889 Dr. J. S. Billings, of the United States Army, who had 
made a special study of European hospitals, was able to affirm that in 
regard to construction these were "the best built buildings of their kind 
in the world.'" The hospital occupies four squares, covering about 

* London, 1893, vol. IV, page 150. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 491 

fourteen acres, upon an elevated site in the eastern part of the city. It 
is built upon the pavilion system, the complete plan calling for twenty- 
five buildings, of which nineteen have been completed. The system of 
ventilating and heating is especially perfect, and something of its mag- 
nitude is shown by the total length of the piping in the buildings, which 
is said to be over sixty miles. The heating is done by warm water 
radiators, through which the incoming air passes, so that the temperature 
of this air may be regulated at will without changing its volume. A 
constant flow of fresh air to the amount of about one cubic foot per 
second for each individual occupying a ward is maintained in all 
conditions of the weather. The registers are so arranged that the 
current of air never passes from one bed to another, but directly from 
each bed to a ventilator located underneath or in a central shaft. An 
account of the special features of the construction, many of which have 
been worked out with great care, fills many pages of the large quarto 
description published by the trustees of the hospital, and constitutes a 
valuable guide to those who are preparing plans for such buildings. 

The fifty-eight private rooms for pay patients are nearly always 
occupied, and the free wards contain an average of about one hundred 
and twelve patients. The total number under treatment in the hospital 
last year was 1,970, while the out-patient department prescribed for 
41,114 others. 

The nursing is well organized, with a superintendent, eleven head 
nurses and forty-four pupils. The training-school for nurses is especially 
efficient. The instruction extends over a period of two years, and 
embraces a course of six weeks in the art of cooking. 

The Johns Hopkins Hospital, though upon an independent foundation, 
is closely connected with the Johns Hopkins University, and fosters the 
same spirit of research and maintains the same high standard of attain- 
ment for which the University is noted. No pains have been spared in 
securing an able staff of physicians, and the advancement of medical 
science is an object constantly held in view. 

The educational work of the hospital will soon be greatly increased 
by the opening of the Medical School of the Johns Hopkins University, 
of which it was designed to become a part. 

The other hospitals of Baltimore are not connected with educational 
institutions, direct medical relief being the motive for their establish- 
ment. The largest hospitals of this class are the St. Agnes' Sanitarium, 
just outside the city to the southwest, where patients suffering from 
alcoholism, as well as from other complaints, are treated; and St. Joseph's 
Hospital, on Caroline street. Both are owned and managed by Catholic 
Sisters, the former by the Sisters of Charity, the latter by the Third 
Order of the Sisters of St. Francis. 



492 MARYLAND. 

The Hospital for the Women of Maryland was established in 1882 
by an association of women, which continues in control with an active 
membership of thirty-three. Skilled surgeons are in charge, ana" much 
good work has been done in alleviating the sufferings of women. A free 
dispensary is connected with the hospital. 

The Union Protestant Infirmary is also managed by a board of 
charitable women, and derives its support from investments, board of 
pay patients, and annual subscriptions. 

The remaining hospitals supply a home for incurables as well as 
temporary treatment for acute cases. The Church Home and Infirmary, 
on Broadway, occupies a commanding position, overlooking the harbor 
and city. The interior is nicely fitted up with many memorial rooms 
and beds supported by individual churches of the Protestant Episcopal 
denomination. Upon the first of February there were seventy-seven 
inmates, of whom forty -four were supported by the church, twenty-eight 
were pay patients, and five were free. According to the last printed 
report forty-four remained in the hospital during the entire year. 

The Hebrew Hospital and Asylum, situated opposite the Johns 
Hopkins Hospital, is a well conducted institution reporting, upon the 
first of January, twenty-two inmates in the Hospital and the same 
number in the asylum. The Hebrew population of the city are careful 
to support their own poor, and the asylum department of this institution 
constitute the Hebrew home for the aged and infirm. 

At the Home for Incurables, on Twenty-first street, only women who 
are without hope of recovery are received. It is conducted like a home 
for the aged, an admission fee of two hundred dollars being charged. 

The Home and Infirmary of Western Maryland, located at Cumber- 
land, has nine permanent inmates under the regulations of a home for 
the aged. The work of the hospital department is increasing. At the 
time reported ten patients were in the infirmary for treatment. In 
October, 1892, a new building was opened, toward which the State Legis- 
lature appropriated $10,000. 

OTHER RELIEF FOR THE SICK. 

Several societies have been organized as aids to the work of the 
hospitals. The Hospital Saturday and Sunday Association, by means 
of special collections in churches and business places, raises about $2,000 
annually for the support of free beds in hospitals. The Hospital Relief 
Association, of Maryland, carries on a varied work, with the general 
purpose of making life more agreeable to the unfortunate inmates of the 
hospitals. The seven standing committees are on books, pictures, visit- 
ing and delicacies, flowers, first aid to injured, the press, and music, 
respectively. To the activity of this Association are due the Home for 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 493 

Incurables, the Hospital Saturday and Sunday Association, and the St. 
Lukeland Sanitai'ium. 

The Hospital Clothing Club is composed of about fifty members 
who contribute their services and money for supplying needed garments 
to the indigent sick in hospitals. 

For work outside of hospitals the Indigent Sick Society was organ- 
ized, according to the Baltimore Charities Directory, some seventy years 
ago, and in 1890, four hundred and seven sick persons were relieved, with 
small sums of money or otherwise. The Hebrew Young Men's Sick 
Relief Association is explained by its name. Relief is given mainly by 
gifts and loans. 

The Mothers' Branch of the Young Women's Christian Association 
provides assistance, including nursing and medical attendance, for needy 
women in confinement. Free nursing, outside of institutions, is also 
done by the sisters of the Convent of Bon Secours, the deaconesses of the 
Methodist Deaconess Home, a nurse connected with the Evening Dispen- 
sary for Women, and, during the summer, the nurses employed by the 
Thomas Wilson Sanitarium, as well as by other agencies less generally 
known. 

Outside of Baltimore, and aside from the Home and Infirmary of 
Western Maryland, the most thoroughly organized association for the 
relief of the sick, is the Hospital Club, of Annapolis, composed of women, 
organized under the direction of the Rector of St. Anne's Parish. Bedding, 
clothing, invalid chairs and other appliances for the sick-room are kept 
in store, and supplied to those in need, together with medical attendance, 
nursing, and other forms of relief. 

HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE. 

For the care of the insane, Maryland at present has but one State 
institution, but public opinion favors State care for the insane, and the 
crowded condition of the existing institutions, especially of the city 
asylum, lends an added force which will probably soon result in the 
building of more State hospitals. 

Of the 1,816 insane patients reported in the institutions of Maryland 
on the 30th of June,* 1892, 427 were in the State hospital, 371 in the city 
hospital (Bayview), 249 in county hospitals, including Montevue and 
Bellevue, 139 in county almshouses, and 630 in private institutions. 

Each public patient, even those in the State hospital, is maintained 
at the expense of the county (or city, in case of Baltimore), from which 
the patient comes. Many of these county patients are treated in the 
private asylum at Mount Hope, while others are cared for in the four 
county institutions which have been granted licenses by the Lunacy 

* In some oases other more recent dates had to be taken instead of June 30. 



494 MARYLAND. 

Commission permitting them to receive pay patients. The uniform rate 
paid for public patients is one hundred and fifty dollars per year. 

General supervision of all institutions which care for the insane is 
vested in a State Lunacy Commission appointed by the Governor. Every 
almshouse or hospital in which the insane are kept must be visited at 
least once every sis months. The commission has full power of examina- 
tion, and all cases of supposed cruelty, neglect, or unjustifiable detention 
are investigated and acted upon. A statute requires that every inmate 
of an asylum have full liberty to correspond with the Lunacy Commis- 
sion once each month. The annual report of the commission gives a 
brief account of the condition of each institution, together with statistical 
tables from the principal hospitals. 

The Maryland Hospital for the Insane grew out of a general hospital 
which was founded before the close of the last century, occupying the 
present site of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It has been devoted to the 
care of the insane since 1840, and has occupied the present location, 
known as Spring Grove, near Catonsville, since 1872. The building is a 
handsome, well arranged structure of Maryland granite. The eighteen 
wards permit classification and promotion. Careful attendance takes 
the place of physical restraint, and employment is given to divert the 
mind. The last report of the Board of Managers states that " After the 
contemplated improvements have been completed, for which the last 
session of the Legislature made appropriations, we doubt if there will 
be any better equipped institution in the country." Of the four hundred 
and twenty-seven patients under treatment upon the 31st of October, 
1892, twenty-nine were private patients, one hundred and forty-seven 
were supported by Baltimore City, and two hundred and fifty-one by the 
various counties. The managers of the hospital are appointed by the 
State governor, and an annual appropriation on the part of the State 
supplements the fee of one hundred and fifty dollars a patient paid by 
the counties and city. 

The largest of the hospitals for the insane, Mount Hope Retreat, is 
under private management, being owned and conducted by the Sisters of 
Charity of St. Joseph's. The five-story brick building occupies a beautiful 
eminence five or six miles northwest of Baltimore. The institution is 
highly praised for its general management, and especially for the care 
taken to divert the minds of the patients by agreeable employments and 
amusements. That the Retreat has a national reputation is indicated 
by the fact that about one-third the inmates come from outside the State. 
About one-half are public patients committed, for the most part, from 
Baltimore city. In addition to the insane patients, some ten or twelve 
persons are usually under treatment for inebriety. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 495 

Another notable institution for the insane is the Sheppard Asylum, 
excepting the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the most costly charitable insti- 
tution in the State, and unique among American Hospitals for the Insane 
in being founded and endowed by the charity of one individual. Moses 
Sheppard organized the board of trustees in 1853, and at his death, in 
1857, bequeathed to them his estate, amounting to $567,632. From the 
income of this fund the asylum has been built at a total expense of over 
a million dollars, while the endowment itself has increased to $669,154. 
The founder "expressed the wish that the experiment might be tried to 
ascertain how much good would result from an unlimited amount of 
attention to everything that could possibly alleviate the condition of the 
insane."* The trustees proceeded with care, and it was not till November, 
1891, that the hospital was opened for the reception of patients. Fifty- 
three were treated during the first year, all but two of whom were charged 
for board in full or in part. Advancement in the treatment of the insane 
is the central purpose in the management of the institution. As in Mount 
Hope Retreat, a training-school, with regular lectures and demonstrations, 
is provided for the instruction of the nurses. 

Two other private hospitals may be mentioned here as treating the 
insane, though they are not managed as charities — the Matley Hill 
Sanitarium, at Relay Station, reporting twenty-four inmates, and the 
Richard Gundry Home, with seventeen inmates, at Catonsville. 

Two of the counties support hospitals for the insane, independent 
of the almshouses in respect to their accounts and superintendency, 
though managed by the same board of county commissioners. Sylvan 
Retreat, near Cumberland, reports sixty inmates. In addition to the 
indigent insane of Allegany county, a number of pay patients are under 
treatment, and a few inmates are supported by other counties. The Cecil 
County Insane Asylum is located at Cherry Hill, two and a-half miles 
from Elkton, and, like Sylvan Retreat, is built upon the county poor 
farm. Twenty-seven inmates are reported. 

The Baltimore City Insane Hospital, and two other county hospitals 
for the insane, are constituent departments of the almshouses, and will 
be considered in the following section : 

ALMSHOUSES. 

In spite of the many lines of effort in their behalf, large numbers of 
incapable people fall back upon the State for support and find shelter in 
the public almshouses. 

The aggregate average number of inmates of these institutions in 
Maryland, according to the reports received last year, is two thousand 
one hundred and eleven. 

'Announcement of the Sheppard Asylum, 1891. 



496 



MARYLAND. 



Of this number, one thousand two hundred and eighty-eight must be 
assigned to the great city almshouse, known as Baymew Asylum, the 
largest institution that comes within the scope of this chapter. 

The buildings and farm have a favorable location just outside the 
city to the east. The institution is composite in its nature, comprising 
a large hospital for the insane, a home for the infirm and aged, a hospital 
for medical and surgical cases, and a shelter for vagrants. 

Admissions to the almshouse are obtained from the purveyor,* who 
has an office at the City Hall. Every day brings its allotment of needy 
and afflicted applicants. During the busy season of the year, medical 
treatment is most often required, and for this, applicants are assigned to 
the city beds in the subsidized hospitals as well as to the almshouse; 
but when the cold weather renders it more difficult to obtain an 
independent living, great numbers of incompetent and improvident men 
apply for protection from cold and hunger. The number of inmates is 
at present increasing from year to year. In 1876 the daily average 
population in all departments was seven hundred and ninety-three; in 
1883, seven hundred and ninety-seven; in 1884, seven hundred and twenty-, 
in 1885, eight hundred and seventy-three; in 1889, one thousand and sixty- 
eight; in 1891, one thousand one hundred and forty-one; in 1892, one 
thousand two hundred and eighty-eight. The largest number ever 
sheltered in the almshouse at one time was during the past winter. On 
the 30th of January, 1893, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four 
inmates were reported, of whom one thousand two hundred and ninety- 
seven were white men ; three hundred and thirty-two white women ; 
one hundred and twelve colored men ; ninety-eight colored women, and 
fifteen were children (imbeciles, epileptics, and infants). Out of this 
number one thousand five hundred and eighty-one were reported as 
"under medical treatment," two hundred and sixty-three were employed 
in the various departments of the household, and ten were boarders. 

The report for May 8, 1893, shows that the number of white men in 
the almshouse was 697 less than it was upon the 30th of January, while 
all the other numbers remained about the same. The regulations of the 
institution require that all inmates " who may be in a condition to labor 
shall be kept at some suitable employment." This rule is fairly well 
enforced in the summer and autumn, but with the present equipment it is 
not found feasible to give employment to the men who throng the house 
during the winter months. Of the permanent inmates about 400f are over 
sixty years of age, and about 375 are insane. During the last year 1,864 
medical cases and 1,127 surgical cases were treated in the hospital wards, 

* People arrested for vagrancy are sometimes committed to the Almshouse lor a definite time, but 
no means are provided for the prevention of escape. 
t Estimated by the superintendent. 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 497 

wlrile many others were prescribed for in a dispensary connected with 
the institution. The medical and surgical department is under the control 
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Maryland University, 
and the medical treatment in the department for the insane is under the 
management of the Medical School of Johns Hopkins University. 

It is apparent to the trustees of the poor, as well as to others who 
have taken an interest in the matter, that the hospital for the treatment 
of the insane should be entirely distinct from the almshouse in order 
that the whole system of management may be founded upon different 
principles in the two institutions. Some change in this direction will 
doubtless be brought about in the near future, but whether the State or 
the city will take the initiative is not yet apparent. Meanwhile the 
department for the insane is being managed as well as the meagre 
equipment allows. The whole institution is kept in good order, and 
aside from the lack of work for the winter residents, the management 
receives quite general praise. The annual cost of maintaining the 
institution is from seventy-two dollars to eighty dollars per capita. 

All but three of the twenty-three counties of Maryland have pro- 
vided County Almshoitses for the care of the indigent, though, as already 
stated, a much larger number of poor people are given partial support 
through pensions from the county treasuries. 

In some counties the poor relief is managed directly by the Board 
of County Commissioners, while in others Trustees of the Poor are 
appointed. In all the almshouses good management is stimulated by 
the regular visits of the Grand Juries, the Lunacy Commission and the 
Prisoners' Aid Association. Though many features are still subject to 
improvement, the more gross abuses have been abolished, the sexes have 
been separated, the rooms are usually kept fairly neat and comfortable, 
and a State law, which is now well enforced, provides that no capable 
child over three years of age shall be kept in an almshouse for a longer 
period than ninety days. A few chronic cases of insanity are sheltered 
in nearly all the almshouses, but acute cases are taken to hospitals for 
curative treatment. 

As previously stated, two of the counties have provided separate 
institutions for the insane. Two others, while placing the insane under 
the same management as the paupers, have made special permission for 
their treatment, and have been licensed by the Lunacy Commission to 
receive insane persons from other counties for pay. 

Montevue Hospital, the Frederick County almshouse, is the leading 
county institution for the insane. The superintendent reports two 
hundred and twenty-eight inmates, of whom one hundred and twenty- 
four are insane. Fifty-eight are maintained at the expense of fourteen 
other counties, and five are detained for the State Penitentiary. 

82 



498 MARYLAND. 

The Washington County Almshouse, known as the Bellevue Asylum, 
returns seventy inmates, of whom thirty-eight are insane. The building 
is well constructed from a sanitary point of view, and the inmates, as in 
Montevue Hospital, are kept employed. 

Among the other almshouses which are especially well constructed 
and managed, mention may he made of those of Cecil, Harford, Talbot 
and Baltimore counties. In Kent county the large county farm of 300 
acres is placed under separate management, so that the superintendent 
of the almshouse may give his entire attention to the buildings and 
inmates. 

HOMES FOR THE AGED. 

It is generally thought that shelters for paupers and tramps may be 
made too inviting, especially by the absence of compulsory labor, but all 
are glad to see the aged and infirm passing their last years amid the 
comforts of a pleasant home, though ill-fortune may have deprived them 
of property and of supporting relatives. 

For such people ten homes are provided by private charity, aided in 
many cases by public appropriations. Two of the homes included in 
this number have no age limit, and will, therefore, receive our attention 
first. 

The Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers' Home occupies a beautiful 
site at Pikesville, Baltimore county. The building was formerly a United 
States arsenal, donated by the federal government to the State, and by 
the State to the Association of the Maryland Line for the purpose of a 
home for needy, infii-m ex-Confederate soldiers. The inmates number 
seventy-five. 

Eleven aged women are given unusually pleasant surroundings in the 
Nome/or Confederate Widows and Mothers, on St. Paul street. 

In respect to the number provided for, the leading home for the 
aged of Maryland is that supported by the Little Sisters of the Poor, on 
Preston and Valley streets. It is a strictly charitable institution. Only 
those are received who are indigent, worthy and over sixty years of age, 
and no admission fee is required. The large buildings, accommodating 
three hundred inmates, are always full and applications are made some 
time in advance of admission. The rooms are kept in the best order 
and all the surroundings are comfortable. The support of the home is 
derived largely from the donation of supplies by dealers and others, from 
whom the sisters solicit help. 

The Little Sisters of the Poor were organized in France, about the 
year 1840. The Mother House, where all the sisters have resided for 
their novitiate, is at St. Servan, in Lower Brittany. Over four thousand 



CHARITIES AND CORRECTION. 



499 



sisters have been sent out to care for the aged poor in all parts of the 
world. The community in Baltimore numbers seventeen. 

The other Maryland homes for the aged are under Protestant manage- 
ment. All are well conducted and provide many of the advantages of 
family life. As a rule, each inmate has a room by himself. Only 
agreeable people sixty years or more of age are received, and an admis- 
sion fee is required, varying, in respect to the homes for white people, 
from three hundred dollars to one hundred and fifty dollars, according to 
the age of the applicant.* The homes for colored people receive a 
uniform fee of one hundred dollars. It is usually required also that any 
pension or further property belonging to the inmate, or falling to him, 
shall be given up to the home. Tn many cases the fees are paid by 
churches or friends of the applicants. 

The oldest institution of this kind is the Aged Women's Home, on 
west Lexington street. It is managed by the Baltimore Humane Impar- 
tial Society, which was organized for the care of widows and orphans, in 
1802, though the home was not established till 1850.f In 1864, the 
building was enlarged, and the Aged Men's Home was opened by the 
same society. 

The Home of the Aged of the Methodist Episcopal Church, on 
Fulton avenue, provides a pleasant home for fifty-five inmates, all but 
five of whom are women. It was founded in 1867. 

The Allgemeine Deutsche Oreisenheimat occupies a fine, well-kept 
building on West Baltimore street. Both men and women are received, 
and one married couple is provided for. 

The Shelter for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons, on west Biddle 
street, is managed by an association of white subscribers. Thirty-two 
colored women occupy the home. 

The Aged Men and Women's Home provides a comfortable shelter 
for fifteen colored people in South Baltimore. The management was 
reorganized last year and placed in the hands of the nine Colored 
Methodist Churches of Baltimore. Each church supports the home for 
one month at a time. 

The youngest and one of the most carefully organized of the 
Maryland institutions of this class is the Home for the Aged, opened at 
Frederick October 26, 1892. All fees and donations in sums exceeding 
one hundred dollars are added to the endowment fund, but inmates have 
for their own use the interest of all money donated by them in excess of 
their admission fees. 

Thus we have followed the wards of the public from the foundling 
hospital and the orphanage, through the many variations of dependency 

* The Lexington street homes make an extra charge for admissions from outside the city. 
t Baltimore Directory of Charities. 



500 MARYLAND. 

and delinquency, to the institutions and homes which provide a shelter 
for their declining years, but charity has not completed its work even 
when death releases the soul from want. Something of the ancient fear 
of remaining unturned seems to survive in the modern aversion to the 
potter's field. This general sentiment causes many a hard-earned dollar 
to be stored away, but more often causes a debt to be contracted, which 
results in financial distress, or even pauperism, for the surviving widow 
or mother. Nearly all the charitable institutions make provision for the 
burial of inmates, private charity often supplies the bereaved with the 
needed funds, and the Hebrew Free Burial Association relieves the Jewish 
population from this form of distress. In a few cases where friends of a 
deceased person can only pay for a grave, the city gives free burial in 
any cemetery, yet each year from five to six hundred bodies are buried 
by the Health Department in the two public cemeteries — one upon the 
eastern and one upon the western outskirts of the city. A wooden slab 
marks the grave, and a carefully kept record preserves its identity. 

But while the relationship of Charity to the individual ends with 
this sad picture, let it not be imagined that her beneficiaries usually 
remain dependent to the end. At each stage of the earlier development 
children, men and women are being rescued from destitution and degra- 
dation, and restored to the ranks of happy, useful, independent life. 
Many preventive measures are still to be inaugurated, and better organiza- 
tion will render the curative work more effective ; but in the great fund 
of charitable effort and purpose, the manifestations of which have been 
partly portrayed in this chapter, lies the promise of indefinite social 
improvement. 



INDEX 



Pages . 

Academy of Sciences 428 

Agricultural Colleges 428 

Agriculture 154 

Alleghany Mountains 17 

Almshouses 495 

Annapolis 7, 8, 9, 47, 356, 366, 441 

Annapolis & Baltimore Short Line R. R. .321 

Antimony 148 

Appalachian Region 11, 12 

Topography 16 

AVater Power 53 

Geology .67 

Ark and Dove 2 

Asbestos 147 

Assembly 3, 5, 381 

A valon 1 

Baltimore 7, 314, 360 

Defence of 9, 10 

Industries 340 

Water Supply 47 

Climate 35, 164,220 

Trade 313, 317, 321 

Population 434 

Baltimore & Lehigh R. R 321 

Baltimore, Lords, see Calvert. 

Baltimore Medical College 425 

Baltimore & Ohio R. R 10, 320, 353 

Baltimore & Potomac R. R 321 

Banking 342 

Baptist Church 401 

Barley 162 

Battle Monument 10 

Bay Mackerel 251 

Belair 358 

Bladensburg, Battle of 9 

Blue Ridge 17 

Botany 218 

Boundaries 1 

Boy's and Girl's Homes 462 

Brass Founding 347 

Brick 75, 143, 348, 353 

Brunswick 355 

Buckwheat 162 



Pages. 

Calvert, Cecilius 1 

Calvert, Charles 5, 6, 7 

Calvert, Frederick 7 

Calvert, George 1 

Calvert, Leonard 2,3 

Calvert, Philip 5 

Cambridge 356, 375 

Canning Industry 175, 178, 259, 308, 343 

Canton 350 

Catoctin Mountains 17 

Catonsville 48,377 

Cattle 180,216 

Cement 139 

Cemeteries 409 

Centreville 48 

Cereals 162 

Charcoal Club . - 430 

Charities and Correction 448 

Charitable Associations 483, 492 

Charter 1 

Chesapeake Bay 14, 265 

Chestertown 48,357,377 

Children's Asylums 449 

Children's Hospitals 464 

Chrome 120 

Churches and Religious Institutions. 393 

Cities and Public Buildings 359 

Clay 75, 143, 145, 353 

Climate 18, 164,220 

Clubs 365- 

Coal 91,352 

Coastal Plain 12, 13 

Geology 73 

College of Dental Surgery 426 

College of Pharmacy 426 

College of Physicians and Surgeons 425 

Commerce and Transportation 313 

Commercial Organizations 351 

Convention 8 

Cotton Duck 349, 351 

Council of Safety 8 

Crabs : 255 

Crisfield : 307, 308,358 

Cumberland 49, 332, 352, 369, 441 



502 



INDEX. 



Tages. 
Curtis' Bay 350 

Dairy Farming 179 

Declaration of Independence 9 

Diatornaceous Earth 81, 91, 148, 201 

Dispensaries 425,489 

District of Columbia 9 

Drainage 14, 16, 18 

Ducks, Wild 235 

Eastern Shore 14 

Farming 160 

Soils 192,210 

Trade 336 

Population 436, 440 

Easton 49, 356, 376 

Education ...... 411 

Educational Charities 466 

Elkton 357, 377 

Ellicott City 127, 358 

Enoch Pratt Free Library 429 

Fertilizers 345 

Finance 383 

Firebrick 144, 353 

Fish and Fisheries 239 

Flag and Seal ...391 

Flint 146 

Flora 218 

Flour Mills 345 

Forests 221 

Fort McHenry 9 

Fossils 75,77,79,81 

Frederick City 7, 49, 355, 374, 441 

Free Schools 7 

Friends 400 

Frostburg 49, 375 

Fruits 171, 176, 177, 178 

Furniture 346 

Geological History 85 

Geology 55 

German Churches 400 

Glass-sand 147, 149 

Gneiss 128 

Gold 122 

Government 25, 380 

Granite 124 

Graphite 148 

Hagerstown 49, 334, 354, 372, 441 

Havre de Grace 49, 356, 375 

Historical Sketch 1 



Pages. 

Hogs 217 

Homes for the Aged 498 

Horses 213 

Hospitals 489, 493 

Immigrants 433, 444 

Indians 3, 5 

Infusorial Earth 81, 91, 148, 201 

Insane Asylums , 493 

Iron Industry 100, 344 

Jews 401 

Johns Hopkins University 415 

Kent Island 2,3 

Key, Francis Scott 10 

Land Animals 235 

Latrobe, B. H 247 

Lead 147 

Limestone 134 

Live Stock 212 

Loyola College 420 

Lumber 346, 352 

Manganese 148 

Manufactures 339 

Marble 134, 137 

Market Gardening 172 

Marl 149 

Maryland Historical Society 428 

Maryland Institute 427 

Maryland Line 9 

Maryland Seal and Flag 4, 391 

Maryland Steel Company 110 

Mason and Dixon's Line 8 

Mechanicstown 50 

Medical and Chirurgical Faculty 424 

Medical and Sanitary Relief 488 

Medical Climatology 40 

Menhaden 247 

Methodist Church 397 

Mica 148 

Mineral Waters 150 

Mines and Minerals 89 

Molybdenum 148 

Mountains 17,18,57,68 

Mount St. Mary's College 419 

Mules 216 

Native Plants 221 

Natural History 218 

Negroes 441 



INDEX. 



503 



Paoes. 

New Mercantile Library 439 

New Windsor College. 420 

Nicholson, Francis 7,411 

North Point, Battle of 10 

Northern Central Maryland. 

Farming 158, 165 

Soils 175,192,194 

Northern Central Railway 320 

Oats 102 

Ochre 147 

Orphanages 453 

Out-door Relief , 482 

Oyster and Oyster Industry 264 



Paleontology 75, 77, 79 

Peabody Institute 

Peaches ..." 176, 177, 

Pe'jgy Stewart, The 

Penn, William 

Phila., Wilmington & Baltimore R. R 

Physical Features 

Piedmont Plateau 11 

Topograph)' 

Water Power. . . .' 

Geology 

Pocomoke, Fight at 

Political Institutions 

Population 

Porcelain Clays 146. 

Port Deposit 124. 

Pottery 95, 145. 

Presbyterian Church 

Prevention of Vice 

Prisons 

Private Schools 

Protestant Episcopal Church 

Public Buildings 

Public Departments 

Public Schools . . . 



Rainfall 34,164 

Redemptorist College 424 

Reformatories 468 

Religious Associations ..406 

" Communities 403 

Publications 408 

Rivers 14,15, 17, 18,51,52,53 

Rock Hill College 420 

Roman Catholic Church 395 

Royal Government 6,7 

Rye 162 



Pages. 

Salisbury 50, 357, 376 

Sand 75, 147, 149 

Sandstone 120 

Seal of Maryland 4 

Serpentine 141 

Severn, Battle at 5 

Shad 239 

Sharpe, Horatio 7 

Sheep 216 

Shipbuilding 345 

Slate 133 

Soapstone 143 

Soils 181,186,193 

Analyses 188, 192, 201, 202, 203, 208 

Southern Homoeopathic College 425 

Southern Maryland. 

Farming 159, 165, 200 

Soils 188, 192, 199, 208 

Population 487, 439, 440 

Sparrow's Point Ho 377 

St. Charles' College 403 

St. John's College 4iy 

St. Mary's, Founded 2 

St. Mary's Seminary 422 

Stamp Tax y 

" Star-Spangled Banner" 10 

State Government 9 3yo 

Strawberries 177 

Straw Hats 343 

Sunday Schools 403 

Tea-burning y 

Temperature ly 

Terrapin 261 

Tobacco.6, 159, 160, 164,109, 170,201, 204,209,344 

Toleration Act 4 

Tomatoes 173, 174, 206, 208 

Topography n 

Trees 221 

Truck Farming 171, 174, 185, 189, 206 

Union Bridge 50 

University of Maryland 414 

University School of Medicine 425 

Vegetables 173, 200, 208 

Walters Art Gallery 431 

Washington College 418 

Water Power 50 

Water Supply 47 

Weather Service 19 



504 



INDEX. 



Pages. 
Western Maryland. 

Farming 157, 165 

Soils 175, 181, 192, 194 

Population 436 

Western Maryland College 420 

Western Maryland It. R 321 

Westminster 50, 376 

Westminster Theological Seminary 424 

Wheat. 162, 165, 166, 184, 187, 201, 202,205,207 

Wild-fowl 235 

Winds 38 



Pages. 

Woman's College 420 

Woman's Medical College 425 

Woodberry 351 

Woodstock 125 

Woodstock College 423 

Young Men's Christian Association 430 

Young Men's Hebrew Association 430 

Zinc 147 



Average Spring Temperature and Precipitation, 





PrlOWLITH SYA .HOE'i&C- d*i 



Average Summer Temperature and Precipitation. 







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[ aHT am. aaAWAjaa 

3fl 






Average Autumn Temperature and Precipitation; 




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Harpers Ferrx. 



MAP 

— op — 

INCLUDING 

DELAWARE AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 

SHOWING 

AVERAGE AUTUMN TEMPERATURE 

AND 

PRECIPITATION. 

SCALE OF SHADES. 



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MARYLAND STATE WEATHER SERVICE. 



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Average Winter Temperature and Precipitation. 



MAP 

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DELAWARE AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

SHOWING 

AVERAGE WINTER TEMPERATURE 
PRECIPITATION. 

SCALE OF SHADES. 



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MARYLAND STATE WEATHER SERVICE 

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Average Annual Temperature and Precipitation 




THE GEOLOGICAL MAP. 



The Geological Map of Maryland which accompanies this volume 
has been compiled from all existing sources of imformation, and contains 
the results of much geological work within the confines of the State 
which has never before been published. The map is nevertheless of only 
a preliminary character, since no systematic survey of the State as a 
whole has ever been carried on. The amount of reliable information for 
different parts of the area is very unequal. In some portions — especially 
the Eastern Shore and Garrett County — very few observations have been 
made, while in others much detailed work has been done. The geologists 
who have been accepted as authorities for different parts of the State 
are indicated on the sketch map in the legend. Assistance has also been 
obtained from the publications of the Pennsylvania Geological Surveys 
and from Prof. W. B. Rogers' geological map of Virginia. 

The only other geological map of Maryland which has ever been 
issued is that contained in P. T. Tyson's first Annual Report as State 
Agricultural Chemist in 1860. While not yet complete, the present 
map will at once be recognized as a great advance over this earlier pub- 
lication. It thoroughly represents the present state of our knowledge, 
and will serve as a definite point of departure for future work by showing 
where the existing data is least satisfactory. 

The base of the geological map of Maryland is the outline of the 
State, including Delaware, carefully drawn by the U. S. Geological Survey 
for the Maryland State Weather Service in 1891. It is accurate for 
boundaries, drainage, and the location of towns, but has no topography 
or roads. Its scale is 1:500,000, or approximately eight miles to the inch. 
The remarkable completeness of the geological record found within 
Maryland's territory has rendered a large number of tints and colors 
necessary. Twenty-nine of these have been employed, although the 



THE GEOLOGICAL MAP. 

number of separate formations in reality is much greater. To avoid 
confusion, similar or unimportant horizons have, in many cases, been 
united. The indicated subdivisions fall naturally into three main series : 
eight pre-Paleozoic, thirteen Paleozoic and eight post-Paleozoic. Inas- 
much as these series also correspond quite closely to the three topo- 
graphic provinces of the State — Piedmont Plateau, Mountains and Coastal 
Plain — the colors have been so arranged as to express these great divi- 
sions in tints of the three primary colors : red, blue and yellow. 

Letter symbols have been used to designate the different formations, 
except In the case of the Paleozoic strata, where the old and well, estab- 
lished numbers of the Pennsylvania Surveys have been retained. No 
attempt has been made to apply the colors to the generalized section 
which runs across the top of the map, because of the difficulty in obtain- 
ing a perfect register in chromo-lithographing such minute areas. The 
vertical exaggeration (about eight times) of this section is believed to be 
justified because of the very low relief in the eastern part of the State. 

The practical value of this map is greatly enhanced by the agricul- 
tural designations which Professor Whitney has assigned to the various 
formations in the legend. These will enable the farmer to use it with 
reference to the crops for which his lands are best suited. 

Too much cannot be said in praise of the care and pains which Mr. 

A. B. Hoen, of the firm of Hoen & Co., has expended upon the artistic 

reproduction of this map. The successful preservation of sharp contrasts 

in its colors and their distribution in three main areas, without the least 

sacrifice of harmonious blending and pleasing general effect, is due 

entirely to his experience and skill. 

G. H. W. 



